In case you have some questions from the Oprah show

We interrupt our normally scheduled TerKeurst household craziness to bring you the Oprah show. Check your local listings. We'll see you there.

Just in case any of you have questions before, during, or after the show ask away.

I'll pick as many as I can and answer them.

Happy asking... be nice... play fair...hold hands when you cross the street today... and all those other things we learned in Kindergarten.

The Oprah Show - Re-Air

Well, it turns out my family and I would like to pop over to your house for a visit. And don't worry about the laundry piles and junk drawers.

Those things don't bother us a bit.

And we are totally not picky eaters if you decide to make us a snack. We are Doritos eating, boxed brownie loving kind of people.

In other words, don't stress.

All you have to do to invite me and my brood into your home is turn on the Oprah show this Thursday. It turns out they are re-airing the "Fascinating Families Show" that we were a part of last year.

I will give you a little warning that the family that is featured right after us may raise some questions that are bigger than what you want small children to deal with. Just so you know.

Now, I know being on Oprah is controversial. Believe me, the anti-Oprah people made that very clear the last time our show aired. I even had some people accuse me of losing my salvation.

But here's the deal.

The producers that came to film our show were Christians that totally got our message. I think you'll see that for 22 minutes God was honored on national TV during our interview. Therefore, why would we not go on the Oprah show?

Remember the cool verse I shared from Acts 4:13 yesterday? Well, I kept reading in Acts this morning and have mercy if I didn't find another smack daddy verse!

The legalistic Sanhedrins warned Peter and John to stop speaking in Jesus' name. In other words, it's just not appropriate to walk around telling the whole world about Jesus and under no certain terms are the two of you to appear on the Oprah show giving testimony about the amazing things of God.

Okay, so I added that last part.

But listen how Peter and John reply...

"We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard," (Acts 4:20).

Acts 4:21 goes on to say, "After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what happened."

Yup, that pretty much sums it... I can't help speaking about what I've seen and heard from God. So, whether or not you watch the show, pray that God uses it in a mighty way tomorrow...

and that the naysayers will be drowned out by "all the other people praising God for what happened!"

The Man, His Sound Machine, and A Verse that will Preach

I am trying very hard to concentrate while I write this blog but I'm a bit distracted.

The man is playing with his sound machine. A little treasure he found at the Walmart. One that will save us hundreds of dollars that otherwise would be spent on electricity to run the bathroom fan at night. All night. Every night.

It seems my hunk of burning love has developed a deep love for white noise.

But white noise is no longer his sound of choice. It is rain. So now every morning I wake with an urge to dawn a raincoat. But then I walk outside and it's dry as a bone. It's adding to my confusion.

And that's a scary thought because I can drum up enough confusion on my own without a sound machine's assistance.

So, this morning he switched things up a bit.

His new sound of choice is the beach complete with waves and seagulls. I have an urge to go get my sunscreen and lather up. Only we aren't at the beach, we are clearly just in our Walmart decorated bedroom. A bedroom that I love dearly but in no way makes me feel beachy.

When I confessed to the man that the fake beach sounds were confusing me and distracting me and making my heart feel all grumpy, he switched the sound.

He's kind like that.

Only then I found myself back in utero listening to my mother's heart beat.

When I confessed that wasn't working for me either we were suddenly camping with the sounds of crickets and frogs and things that go boo in the night.

So once again I confessed that the sounds- the SOUNDS- they just weren't working for me.

That's when he did a little confessing on his own. My key board ratta-tap-tapping was making him crazy and distracted and feeling all grumpy.

He's honest like that.

Now I'm trying to type very quietly. But it is very hard to do that when I want to bang these words out to be the beat of the Jiminy Cricket Band invading my quiet with a fake camping experience.

But none of that is the real reason for my post today.

I have to share with you a smack Daddy verse that I just found.

Acts 4: 13, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."

That one sentence is a sermon that will preach sisters!

It challenges me to ponder... do others recognize that I have been with Jesus?

Powerful stuff.

So powerful in fact that I might just learn to be happy about the ol' sound machine after all.

Standing with a Sister

Sweet Bloggy Friends...

Well, I have officially been blogging one year and can hardly believe I have grown to enjoy it so very much. My first post was called "The Hesitant Blogger." That perfectly described my dive into the blogging world.

Many people outside the blogging world ask me why I blog.

There are many reasons.

But honestly one of the reasons I blog is because so much of what I do in ministry goes out to people I never interact with. The P31 magazine articles... the P31 radio spots... my books- what I write in these places goes out but only occasionally do I get to hear how other's lives are touched because of it.

I blog because I want to encourage others.

But I have to be honest and admit that my love language is words of encouragement. So here on the old blog, you gals have done more to spur me on and encourage me to keep going in ministry than anything else I've ever experienced.

Each comment you leave a treasure to me. I read every one and often pray for the person who sent it.

But for today's post, I'm closing my comments and asking that you instead bless someone else with your love and encouragement.

Her name is Tammy Nischan and her son Nick is in the fight of his life. Tammy came to She Speaks just a month ago. There she randomly sat at a table with a gal she'd never met named Laurie.

Here is what Laurie said about their chance meeting:

"Of the 7 ladies who nervously sat down Friday night at table number 35, only two had ever met before. It was an unlikely mix of women to be honest; choosing that table randomly, or so we thought.

One at a time six other ladies sat down ranging from mid 30's to 70's. All walks of life, different colors, different backgrounds, from CA to NC. Sharon, Heather, Tammy, Melodie, Jennifer and myself and Cyndie were the She Speaks table 35.

Of the 7 of us 5 had lost children in the last few years and one within the last 18 months. The 6th has a son who has been battling brain cancer since he was 6 and he is now 12. He has been in and out of remission and had frequent brain surgery's to remove the malignant tumors.

By the end of that first night all of us had immediately bonded feeling a deep godly connection and we promised to meet back at table 35 for each general session. Before long we were sitting at our regular sessions together learning more and more miraculous coincidences about our lives as the hours passed."

Well, these ladies have started a blog together called "The View from the Front Porch." I know they'd love to have you visit and check them out.

But the person who I'd love to have you flood her blog with comments today is Tammy. Will you take just a minute to pop over to her blog and tell her that you are praying for Nick.

This is a very critical week for them.


As you will see from her site, Tammy has already lost a 6 week old daughter from SIDS.

Sisters, can we collectively lift her precious Nick up to Jesus today and call out for his health to be restored?

Tammy, if you happen to read this today, please know Jesus hears your prayers and many, many sisters are standing with you today.

And Nick, if you happen to read this, many mommies are on the battle lines with your mommy today. Though most of us don't know you personally, we love you.

If you missed the link above, you can get to Tammy's site by clicking here.

Jane Fonda ain't got nothing on us!

Oh how I wish my bloggy friends lived in the same town as me. Think of all the fun we could have doing adult gymnastics on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's.

Last week I FINALLY convinced Holly and Renee to join me.

Holly hasn't been back since. But she's promised me she will be back in the gymnastics action next week. In her defense, she loves running. She does not like handstands and cartwheels and sit ups.

Cheer on dear friends. Cheer her on.

Renee has suddenly become an exercise die hard. The girl not only comes to the gym class with me but then leaves and goes walking or running afterwards. You'll just have to excuse her tiny little exercising self.

Today I thought it would be fun to invite you to class with us.

Come on girls... it will be fun.

We start with a run around the gym for 5 minutes. The coach calls out different things we have to mix in with our run... arm swings, hopping on one foot, skipping, running backwards, etc. Then we jump rope for 5 minutes.

Renee is having a blast. Can't you see it on her face?

Off to the bars.

All I can say about trying to lift your toes up to the bar is uuuuurrrrgggggggghhhhh! Note to self, those milk duds you keep eating at the movies are not helping this situation.

It took me over a year to be able to do this. My friend Cindy just joined the class and look at her!

I suspect this is supposed to help with our love handles. Do I really care enough about getting rid of these to torture myself like this?

Ummmmm... Renee? Honey, what are you doing?

Well lookie there... a real live handstand. You go girl!

Seriously, my body is just not made to do certain things. If you get close to 40 and can still do the splits, it is just a sure sign that you have hidden issues. Serious issues. Do you gals agree?

Well look who has some of those said issues... Mercy Renee!



And now for the grand finale that comes with a little warning:


If you have given birth to a child jump on the trampoline at your own risk.

And make sure to have a change of pants with you.

Happy Weekend everybody!

Scrap booking Anxiety

Just the title of my post today will send some screaming for the hills. I realize this. I feel your pain.

I am a bit befuddled with the stacks of papers and unorganized photos that have accumulated in a certain closet.

What I want to to happen is for some kind of scrap booking fairy to get into this space of my home, sprinkle a little glittery pixy dust, work her little sparkly fingers to the bone and produce well organized, beautiful albums complete with journaling in my handwriting.

But no matter how many times I open up that closet with great expectation, the same disorganized stacks of who knows what and why I'm saving all this stuff greets me.

And don't even get me started on the state of my photos.

Where are they?

In one camera there, another here, on a disc that I'm not sure where I saw it last, in the computer, one the Internet, in my e-mail, and on three random rolls of film. Are photo places still developing rolls of film?

Am I alone in this struggle?


What do you do with all those mementos, papers, I love you notes, hand drawn pictures, and school papers that you want to save a few from each year?


Are you a brave tosser? A dust collector? An organized paper storer?


I love scrapbooks. I mean I really heart them in deep places of my soul. But I am always years behind.


And that is the thing about years... they keep coming.


So, I'm thinking of hiring my 14 year old to take this on as her summer job. But I want your advice before helping her get started. Should we keep on with the paper, tape runners, circle cutters, decorative papers kind of scrap booking?


Or, should we transition to the "do everything on the computer" and make a bound book kind of scrap booking? And if you do the bound book thing, what do you do with your paper mementos?


And what website have you used for bound books that do everything on line?


I figure bringing up scrap booking in a room full of women is a little like talking about weight loss. Everyone has some kind of opinion. So, chat away sweet sisters. I'm all ears.


Oh yes, and the winner of the A&B designs four pack stationary set is:

Melissa from Mel's World.

Congrats!

What to do when my ugly comes out

Well, you certainly blessed my socks off yesterday and put some happy back into my birthday. Thank you so much.

Tomorrow, I'll pick the winner of the stationary from A & B Designs. Many of you asked about whether or not they would sell it on line. I'm not sure about that. I went to etsy to check it how people do that. But, lots o directions were making my aisle 7 Hobby Lobby twitch even worse.

So, we'll see.

If any of you are experts in etsy, please let me know. It's always more fun to delve into the unknown of computers and Internet shops when you've got a knowledgeable friend on the phone.

And then there is the whole pricing issue. How much do people pay for handcrafted stationary? Feel free to weigh in.

It might be that this is just a fun little season of selling things from our kitchen table when poor unsuspecting friends pop over. Brooke is such a cute salesgirl, "You ever write letters? Boy do I ever have something you need!"

So, fun.

Now, on to the real reason for my post today. I have been working on my book and right now I'm working on a chapter called, "When my ugly comes out."

Let's just say the birthday flop of 2008 has helped me to be in need of living the message I'm writing.

Here are two snippets from my chapter:

1. "And I really wish that I could put some sort of spin on how I reacted to all this to make it seem more godly. I would love to share how I smiled and remained calm and didn’t yell at those I love and didn’t pout about the forgotten birthday. I would love to be able to say I took the high road and handled everything with grace as I shined my little halo and sang Kumbyyah.

But I’m afraid only one word describes my overall attitude: ugly.

So, since days like this are a reality, what’s a girl to do? Especially a girl on a quest to live out the realities of Jesus in the midst of everyday life. Everyday life that sometimes gets quite messy, inconvenient, ill-timed and ill tempered I might add."

2. "Psalm 103:1 starts out with what I think are three of the most life changing words in the entire Bible: “Praise the Lord.” Praise is the key that releases God’s character back into even the ugliest of attitudes and darkest of situations. Psalm 22:3 in the King James Bible reminds us that God inhabits the praises of His people.

In other words, where there is praise, God’s presence can be felt. And what does His presence bring with it? The fruit of His character: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and…. cough, cough… self-control."

So, my question today is, what are some of your favorite "praise" verses from the Bible?

And if any of you have any kind of ugly that tries to come out today, will you try praising God in that moment and letting me know what happens?

I am so excited to be able to interject your comments throughout the pages of my book. I'm still working on the ones from last week. But again, please make sure to leave some way for me to contact you so I can get your permission to use your quote if chosen.

Off to do a little praising...

Trying to act like a big girl

Okay.

So.

I've been trying to celebrate my birthday. Trying is the key word here. And just for the record, I don't lie when I share here on the ol' blog.

I know you might be tempted to think that the craziness I call my life can not possibly be true. Believe me, when I live this stuff I can often be heard saying, "Surely this is not happening."

But alas it is. It does. It has. And it probably forever will. Sigh.

So, here is a run-down of the birthday celebration that almost was...

I tried to get a Starbucks--- store shut down due to equipment failure.

We tried to go to my favorite restaurant---closed.

We tried to go see Mama Mia--- sold out.

I kid you not.

But alas my ever smart friends Renee, LeAnn and Holly were not deterred in their quest to help me find some happy for my birthday.

We found another theater and nabbed the last few tickets available. Finally things were working out.

We settled in our seats, ate popcorn and Milkduds like we'd never heard the word 'calorie' before, and laughed those 'from the depths of your belly' laughs that are simply so good.

And then it was time to leave.

Holly and I walked ahead. LeAnn and Renee were walking out behind us. All of the sudden a commotion of oohhs, ahhhhs and guffaws ensued.

Apparently the birthday girl in her great consumption of said popcorn and Milkduds did in fact drop a few chocolate covered carmel candies in her lap.

Then there must have been some leg crossing and seat shifting and leaning over to laugh with the girls that caused the Loose and Fancy Free Milkduds and popcorn kernels to clump together in a brown ball of goo right on my hind end.

Oh and did I mention I was wearing WHITE JEANS!

I won't tell you what that brown clump of goo looked like dangling from my backside... but I think your imagination can spin quite a picture for you.

Like I said here, "You can dress the girl up, but you might want to think twice before taking her out."

Especially on her birthday.

Hot off the kitchen table assembly line

Oh the crafting that has taken place at my house this weekend.

Brooke recruited her sister, Ashley, to help her with "the store." Thus the name of the business that has caused this craft challenged Mom to find herself wandering the aisles of Hobby Lobby this weekend: A and B Designs.

Brooke only fired and re-hired her sister twice.

In the end, some really cute cards were made... the sisters bonded... and there is hope that the legacy of craft failures that has been owned by this side of the TerKeurst family may have finally been redeemed.

Without further ado, may I present you with the summer line of handcrafted cards hot off the kitchen table assembly line:

So, which design is your favorite? And do you have any ideas for cute names for the different designs?

Little inquiring minds would like to know. And everyone who leaves a comment will be entered to win a package of 4 cards.

I'm off to take an Advil. Will that help this twitch I found on aisle 7 at the Hobby Lobby?

Cows and Craft Projects

If you have been in bed for months, sicker than you've ever been in your life, then suddenly thousands of people from around the world pray for you and you start feeling better... where would you go?

Of course, you would dress up like a cow so you could get a free chicken biscuit from Chick-fil-A on Cow Appreciation Day.

Never mind that your son-in-law owns a Chick-fil-A and could send you a coupon for a free biscuit any day of the week.

No, I'm convinced that it wasn't about the free biscuit at all. It was the lure of going into public dressed as a cow that finally prompted my Mom to get out of the sick bed.

We are a family of crazies.

Every single one of us. And my sister Sarah (on the left) was just daring enough to send me this little treasure of a photo. It will tickle my Mom (center) and horrify my college-aged sister, Emmie (right). Like I could resist posting it on my blog.

Which will of course cause a great flurry of phone calls from Southern accented women to come my way today. But I won't be here to get said phone calls.

I'm going to get my hair cut and then I'm going to go get some free Chick-fil-A from my husband's store dressed in clothing that is not so "udderly" ridiculous.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Anyhow, the real point of this post is to Praise God for what He has done in helping my Mom. And to thank you for the prayers you posted on my blog and kept praying. You have no idea what an impact you made on my Mom not just physically but spiritually as well.

I knew she was feeling better when she called me from her cell phone giggling like a school girl saying, "Honey, we're all dressed like cows goin' to get us some chicken."

It will still be a long road to recovery for my Mom. Though a definitive diagnosis is still alluding us, they think she may have an advanced and severe case of Lyme Disease. So, please keep praying.

On another note, here at the home front we are knee deep in craft projects. Brooke is very excited for me to display her wares on the blog on Monday.

She wants to do a give away. I won't go into her whole marketing strategy behind this give away because she is starting to sound like an economics professor.

One that has a nine year old's voice and intersperses her lectures with popping bubble gum and teenie bopper songs, but a professor none the less.

I want to quote you in my book

First I have to share today about the store. It has progressed. Yesterday, with a little help from her craft challenged mom, some hip and happening printed paper, and grosgrain ribbon we made some really cute stationary.

She kept stressing about her inability measure exactly or tie the ribbons perfectly. But I assured her that was all part of the charm of homemade products. We can get away with a lot in the south under the auspice of charm. Ain't that right?

I'll post pictures tomorrow and do a give away. But never fear... it won't include any of her lollies.

Now, onto a completely different subject.

My book writing fingers have been fast at work this week on my book. The book that you helped title... "Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl." At least that's the working title. Hopefully it will survive all the edits, redos, and rewrites during the book writing process and make its grand debut October of 2009.

For those of you that voted for "Fulfilled" don't stress. I still like that title as well and may use it for my next project. I already have an outline for that book which is a huge bonus because outlining my books is about as much fun as having a mammogram. The squeezing it does on my brain ain't pretty.

But that's a subject for another day---that whole mammogram thing. I have to go. I'm terrified. I'm trying to just put on my big girl pants and deal. But I may need some cheering on of the the friend variety. But we're not going there right now with this post.

Sorry for the tangent. Brooke gets it honestly.

So, back to the book writing.

I have already quoted some of you in my book. We'll be contacting you next week for your permission. But I'd like to quote a few more of you in a chapter I'm doing on living out the realities of Jesus in our everyday lives.

Psalm 119:140 says, "Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them."

So, do you have a verse that you have thoroughly tested in some life circumstance that you have grown to love?

Please tell me about it. If you post as anonymous, please also leave your e-mail address so I can connect with you and give you credit.

And for the sake of just a little more Southern charm... thanks y'all!

An Ordinary Glass Window

About a year ago I woke up early one morning and saw the strangest sight.

Condensation had collected on one of my bedroom windows. Etched in the condensation were two perfectly drawn circles.

They were joined at the center and looked exactly like two wedding bands.

I stared at this marking on my window and tried to come up with a reasonable explanation. I could not for the life of me figure out how two perfect circles could have gotten drawn into the condensation of my very high up bedroom window.

Later that day I went back to look at the window but the hot afternoon sun had long since caused the window to dry out. The wedding bands were gone.

For days I looked for their return, waking each morning eager to see them and ponder their existence. But when the days turned into weeks I eventually stopped looking.

Then one morning they reappeared.

Only this time they were there for several mornings straight. Each morning when my eyes would open, the two etched wedding bands were the first thing I'd see.

On about the fourth morning as I stared at this strange phenomenon my heart started aching. There was a kind of urgency suddenly pulsing through my chest. I tried to brush it off but couldn't quite shake the feeling.

It was a conviction. But not a condemning kind of conviction. Rather a tender one.

A tender conviction to love my husband more intentionally. And not just in the convenient ways. But in the inconvenient as well. In ways that take a little more thought... intentionality... and effort.

Ways that are easy to let slip when the everyday urgencies seem to take precedence. Seem more important.

So, I mentally made all kinds of promises and grand plans for a priority overhaul. And for a few days, I did great.

But then life... lots of life. Nothing bad. Lots of good. Lots of distractions. The window circles soon disappeared and so did my resolve. All my good intentions slipped back into a comfortable getting by of sorts.

Well, at the risk of starting to sound like a Hallmark movie, the circles are back.

I don't want to sound presumptuous. But the circles seem so perfectly drawn. And so perfectly timed.

Do you think that maybe, just maybe, Love of the most Divine kind has tipped down to touch an ordinary glass window?

Hunh?

Okay...

I have had some spiritual insights this week that have gotten my blood pumpin' and my typing fingers flying. But we'll have to save those for another day.

Because my conversation with the youngest of my brood yesterday is just dying to be posted on this here blog.

Yes, this is the youngest that is also dubbing as the entrepreneurial telemarketer and seller of homemade 25% off coupons. The coupons that are good at the store in her bedroom in case you are in the mood to buy a 9 year old's half licked lollies and assorted leftover loot.

Anyhow, she was explaining her business plan to me while in the car. Right about the point where she was telling me why it is important to always reinvest 30% of your profits back into your business...hunh? How old are you? Explain that to me again. I hate percentages.

...we pass this neighborhood with humongous homes and suddenly the conversation turns. She is desperate for me to look at a certain house that is around the corner, behind that other house, down the hill and through the woods.

"See it? See it? Look Mama. It is really important for you to look at that house!"

She obviously wanted me to use my third and forth eyeballs on the side and back of my head. The ones that help me catch my people when they roll their eyeballs at me.

I think I might have caught sight of the corner of the roof of that house, so I assured her I did in fact see the house.

"Well, the guy that lives there is Jackson's friend who plays guitar for Miley Cyrus."

Oh dear, do I have the Vanity Fair photo conversation with her now or later?

"And Jackson took me over there to meet him and we called Miley on the cell phone."

Hunh?

"She was nice."

Hunh?

"Yeah, it's true. Hey mom how do you get rid of the scabs on top of mosquito bites? It just takes way too long to pick them all everyday."

Hunh?

"And one more thing. When I change clothes when we get home, remind me to wear blue. I just have not been wearing enough blue so my eyes are starting to turn from blue to black."

Hunh?

...I'm sorry y'all. I seem to have lost my mind. And all my words just keep sounding like, hunh.

The girl works hard for her money

I will go ahead and apologize to any of you who might have gotten a telemarketing call from a certain small voiced entrepreneur this weekend who decided to set up a little shop in her room.

It seems that it is rather difficult to sit back and watch your older brothers and sisters get paying jobs and not get bit by the money making bug.

So, said child arranged and tagged many of her belongings and then started calling people. My friends. Unbeknownst to me.

Of course she scored big when she called Holly. Somehow she convinced Miss Holly to buy a 25% off coupon for $2.00. Actually she convinced Holly to buy two of these highly valuable coupons... one for her and one for her 16 year old daughter.

Because you know that a grown woman and a teenage girl will find lots of very desirable merchandise in a 9 year old's room. Good thing they have those 25% off coupons.

They are sure to have a difficult time picking just a few things. What between all the stuffed animals, the deck of 47 cards, the blow pop that she only licked 4 times and then wrapped back up, and the shell that the hermit crab grew out of. (Yes, there is another one of those dangling prepositions.)

We are talking serious shopping dilemmas.

Of course her Daddy thought her little shop idea was sheer brilliance and encouraged the whole thing by buying her a bonafide cash register. Also, unbeknownst to me.

A fancy plastic cash register from the Target. Y'all Holly and I don't even have a fancy plastic Target cash register to carry to our conferences where we sell books. Whole books with no pages missing.

Of course maybe I could buy one of those 25% off coupons and use it to buy that little cash register at a discount.

So, she still hasn't risen up to call me blessed yet. But she sure does have the part of Proverbs 31 down where she considers her loot and sells it and out of her earnings she buys a fancy plastic cash register from the Target.

Or something like that.

The love was felt over an egg salad sandwich

Several of you asked what Art thought of the movie, "Fireproof."

So, I asked him to tell me some things that might help you get your man cub as excited about going to see it as you are.

I thought he was going to refer to the several heart racing scenes of near death experiences. A fire raging out of control where the leading man risks his life to save a stranger. Or the out of control train that is closing in on a car with two trapped teen aged girls. You get the picture.

Those were some of the edge of your seat, chew your nails to a nub kind of scenes.

But he didn't refer to those at all.

Instead he got right to the heart of why this movie was made.

"Lysa, just tell them it's a great reminder of the need to be a student of your spouse. And I was reminded of the need for husbands to take the lead in loving our wives. 1Peter 3:7 encourages husbands to submit to Christ for direction and example on how to love. They'll be reminded of the true beauty of a Christ-centered marriage- a marriage that matters for eternity."

Hunh?

Um, wow.

Um, honey maybe you need to be writing this here blog because you are like totally wise.

Others of you asked why this movie, clearly about marriage, might be appealing to everyone... married or not.

The underlying theme of this movie is really about salvation.

The main characters are not Christians.

It is fantastic to see how creatively the creators of this movie painted our need for salvation and how much God loves us using the auspice of a troubled marriage.

I predict this movie will not only help a lot of marriages but will be an amazing tool for telling others about Christ as well.

On a completely different note, I was making egg salad last night. I was quite impressed with my ability to open up the fridge at 7pm and announce that in fact I did have plans to whip something yummy together for dinner.

This was a strange thing for my kids to behold.

I am not a whip together dinner kind of gal.

One missing ingredient will send me into a tail spin of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

I was quite proud of my dicing and chopping and mixing the said egg salad.

Ashley be- bopped into the kitchen and swiped her finger across the side of the bowl.

Waiting to be affirmed in a most glorious way I said, "Well, what do you think?"

She quickly grabbed the telephone book from off the shelf, plopped it beside the phone, and urgently said, "Mama, how do you spell Domino's?"

Sigh....

A little later I see my man... you know the one who has just been motivated to take the lead in loving me and becoming a student of me and seeing our marriage as something worth investing in, etc. etc. etc.

Well, he fixed himself a big ol' egg salad sandwich. Of course he alternated bites of pizza between each bite of my egg salad.

But still.

The whole thing just made me smile.

Happy Weekend!

Book Publishing Q&A

*** I have 10 entries in the comments section below. Be sure to check out some of the other's comments as well for some great suggestions. Also a great book to consider investing in is "For the Write Reason." To purchase your copy, click here.

This has been fun. I'm now closing the comments and calling it a day. Thanks for visiting and happy writing!***

Hi Friends,

Today I thought it might be fun to do a little Q&A on book publishing.

Whether you are an aspiring author or just curious about the whole process, feel free to ask away. While I am no publishing expert... I always promised that if I ever held a book with my name on the cover, I would help others.

So, if you have a question or two, ask away. I probably won't have time to answer every question but I'll do the best I can to address those things I do know something about.

For those of you popping over from the Proverbs 31 "Encouragement for Today" devotion... welcome! To ask a question, click the word "comments" below and follow the prompts.

On a completely different note...

I went to the grocery store with Brooke yesterday after my workout. Somewhere between the jelly aisle and meat section, she stepped back to take my "look" in.

"Mama?"

"Yes, Brooke?"

"Frankenstein just called and would like his hairdo back."

Somehow when Proverbs 31 mentions her children rising to call her blessed, I'm thinking this isn't quite it.

Fireproof

I think God is wanting me to give my marriage some intentional thought.

Art and I have a good marriage. It is comfortable and stable. If I held my marriage up to a checklist, we would get a passing grade on all accounts.

But the stresses and strains of daily life with many blessings can sometimes dig ruts in even the most solid of relationships. It's not the big things that knock us off kilter. It is the accumulation of lots of little things tumbling upon us in a very constant way.

Again, we have a great relationship. But, it is oh so easy to slip into a drifting phase where we start operating more like business partners than husband and wife.

Well, last night we went to a movie screening that seriously got our attention.

The movie is Fireproof. You can find information about it by clicking here.

When I say this movie is amazing, that word can't possibly contain what we experienced last night. Over popcorn and Milk Duds we found rib aching laughter, heart racing action, truth, and a gut honest reality check.

And we found out the creators of this movie are releasing a 40 day book for couples to work through called "The Love Dare." After seeing the movie, this title will totally make sense to you.

We are so doing this study.

Will you do yourself a favor? Pull out your blackberry, or paper calendar, or PDA, or strawberry... whatever keeps your schedule... and schedule to go see this movie on the weekend of September 26th. Whether you are married or not, the spiritual truths in this flick are rich for every person.

This movie is from the creators of "Facing the Giants." Y'all it is a church in Albany, Georgia that is producing these great films. Talk about getting radically obedient to reach people for Jesus!

I had the privilege to meet the pastor of this church, some of the directors and the guy that starred as the coach in "Facing the Giants" (who happens to be one of the directors/ writers for this project.)

They all have big humongous hearts for Jesus and for His plan for marriage. If you will commit to going to see this movie when it comes out in September, would you leave a comment and let me know? I'd love to be able to participate in some small way to promote this incredible endeavor.

And oh my stars... the main characters are seen with a Chick-fil-A cup and bag. Could it get any better than that?

You can dress her up but you might want to think twice before taking her out

A few years ago I was at a Christian book convention. It is surreal to be at these gatherings. One minute I passed by Beth Moore eating ice cream with her daughter and the next minute I see Rick Warren chatting with people in the hotel lobby.

Of course my mantra in a place like that is two fold:

Don't say or do anything that would negate my mama's high regard for manners.

And pretend like you fit in even when you keep wanting to scoot off to call your friends back home and say, "okay, now you're really not going to believe who I just met."

The smile and nod technique works well. When you pass someone you've long admired you simply say, "Hi Beth," with a smile and slight nod.

Really this works much better than running up to that person, throwing your arms around them while smashing their ice cream into your hair and blubbering on for ten minutes about how cute their shoes were from the eighth video of the such and such series.

Somehow I've acquired a gift of video playback in my head before the event actually even happens.

When I want to do something crazy I watch the video in my mind of how things could turn out if I throw caution to the wind and act on impulse... and this usually protects me from horribly embarrassing situations.

Except sometimes my video deceives me.

Like on the second day of the convention when I had enough nervous energy to power a small city and my stomach betrayed my desire to not draw any attention to myself. I had to find a bathroom and fast!

So, the little video in the head thing directed me past the well attended bathrooms to one on a remote hall off the convention floor that was surely a well kept secret.

I have never been so happy to have a bathroom all to myself in all of my life.

But my excitement was short lived when the minute I was exiting my stall, Kay Arthur walked in.

Have mercy, have mercy, have mercy.

The video in my head started flashing red letters across my mind's screen, "GET OUT FAST."

I flew to the sink with my head down, washed my hands, spun around to get a towel and practically knocked poor Kay down.

She had made her way over to me for a little chat.

"Honey, I just love your jacket. Now that is a good color. What color eyes do you have? Oh yes, that is a great color on you. Now where did you get this jacket?"

On and on and on she went about my jacket while I stood there with dripping hands, a stunned look, and a cloud of embarrassment about me. I might as well have had a neon sign on my forehead that read, "Yes, I am the one that caused this horrendous smell in this here bathroom."

I'm pretty sure I started wiping my dripping hands on said lovely jacket. And I don't remember what I said to her but I hope it was something clever like, "Yes, this jacket is cute but if you run over to the Steinmarts to get you one, don't let it get wet. When this fabric gets wet, it smells something terrible."

I am such the professional at gatherings like this.

How Jesus is helping this girl get her groove back

First, I must say a huge thank you for praying for my Mom. She rallied a bit this weekend and we both knew it was a direct result of many, many prayers.

If anyone has a connection at the Mayo clinic, please e-mail me at Lysa1@Proverbs31.org. We've tried twice to get her seen there but have been denied. Which may very well be for the best, but I thought I'd at least try one more time.

Since I've been home, I've been tired and grumpy. I can't really explain why. You know that edgy feeling that if one more person asks one more thing of me, my head might start spinning around?

Pleasant, hunh?

So, this morning I sat down with my Bible and asked God to please interrupt my feelings with His truth. I want to be fresh for my family today. I'd like to actually smile and say nice things.

Usually this comes without trying. But some kind of emotional funk has settled over me.

As I sat down with my Bible I opened it up and started reading and praying.

"Speak to me Jesus. Help me process this heavy feeling I have."

Only one word came to me. Only one word rushed across my heart and settled into my spirit. It wasn't the word I was expecting but I suppose it is the exact word I needed.

"Thanksgiving."

So, I started listing things for which I am very thankful. It felt a little silly. A little elementary. I wanted some deep theological truth to chew on and ponder. I wanted a big lightening strike of revelation. I wanted an instant fix... a ready explanation.

But here I am in this basic exercise.

And the more I verbalize what I am thankful for, the less cloudy my heart feels. I still can't explain my feelings. I still don't understand them. But I think verbalizing what I'm thankful for is the very thing that is keeping me from wallowing in them.

So, I am making choices despite my feelings. I am making the choice to get up and do the laundry, the grocery shopping, the cooking, the errand running, the kid investing.

And with each task as I am verbalizing my thankfulness I am seeing the treasures wrapped within.

I am thankful that we have running water and electricity. Therefore I can do laundry by walking across the kitchen. So many in this world don't have this luxury. I am thankful for the blessings of towels and sheets and clothing.

I am thankful for a car that can carry me to and from the grocery. I am thankful that I have money to buy the food my family needs. I am grateful for arms that are strong enough to lift the bags of food from my car and legs that help me carry it all inside.

I am so very thankful for my healthy kids and for the privilege it is to hear them call me Mommy. I am even thankful for the constant interruptions and busy little messes that seem to be found around each corner of motherhood.

I am thankful that God makes a way for us to live our lives based on truth rather than on feelings.

And I am really thankful that Weight Watchers makes little chocolate cakes that only count for one point... and that my grocery store had them in stock today... and that I have two set aside for my after lunch treat today.

Oh yes ma'am.

And that's how Jesus is helping me get my groove back.

Now for the winner of the drawing from last Thursday... can I just first say that you ladies are so smart and full of great insights! I read every one of your comments and found them to be incredibly helpful.

So, I used the little random generator to pick a winner...

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:70
Timestamp: 2008-07-06 16:03:26 UTC

Congrats to Pamela from the Pink Shoe Lady blog... you are the winner of the $20 Starbucks certificate.

A Penny or two for your thoughts

I love winning stuff. I love giving stuff away. I love my high maintenance vanilla latte from Starbucks. I love friends. I love getting their advice.

So, I'm combining all that and offering you a chance to win a $20 Starbucks gift card today.

Leave a comment ( or two, or ten) with your input on my questions today and you'll be entered into a random drawing to win. Just be sure I have a way to contact you either through your blog or e-mail.

Several months ago I asked for your help in naming my new book for the purpose of getting my proposal together.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your wit and wisdom--- I heart my bloggy friends a lot!

Well, I am excited to announce that I have just signed with Zondervan for this project which will be both a book and a DVD Bible Study.

I was doing an arm flailing, unhindered happy dance. It wasn't pretty. But it was happy!

Now, today, the reality of what I've just agreed to do has hit me. I quipped to my husband, "Have mercy Art. Do you think they would still want me for this project if I dared admit that I don't know the proper usage of an ellipsis, semi colon, or a dangling participle?"

He smiled and replied, "Well, at least you know what those things are."

I love my man.

Anyhow, my desire with this project is to have my bloggy friends involved.

I'll be asking for your input throughout these next couple of months. I may even contact you asking for permission to use some of your comments. I love your off the cuff, honest, hilarious, and insightful comments.

But for today, I am asking for your input on two things:

First, the title. Originally, the title that you helped us choose for the proposal was "Fulfilled, Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl."

Now, we've decided to break the title apart and only use one or the other. So, will you vote on which grabs you more:

"Fulfilled-
I finally found what I've been looking for"

OR

"Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl."

Here's a little excerpt from the book to give you a better glimpse of where I'm going with it:

Learning to seek God with all of our heart is what I hope we are inspired to do within the pages of this book.

Seeking with all of our heart requires more than just the normal Christian checklist. Pray. Read your Bible. Do a Bible study. Go to church. Be nice. Don’t hold a grudge against those boys that didn’t ask you to couple skate in the fifth grade.

Okay, well maybe that last one is just my issue. But you catch my drift.

I want my life with Jesus to be real. I want my beliefs to work no matter what life throws at me. I want total security that no matter what happens, my relationship with Jesus will be enough to keep me sane and together and still fully devoted. Is this possible?

Ask a group of Christian women what makes them feel secure with Jesus and chances are they’ll answer you with things that they do.

But true fulfillment will never be found in seeking to do enough, be enough, have enough, know enough, or accomplish enough. “Enough” is illusive and always just slightly out of reach. Many of us know this but still we continue the same patterns of trying to be good Bible Study girls hoping that if we do it long enough, fulfillment will somehow find us....

Now that you see where I'm headed with this, let me ask my second question: What are some topics you would hope to see covered in a book like this?

I'm going to leave this post up throughout the weekend and then announce on Monday the random winner from all the comments left for the $20 Starbucks card.

One last but certainly not least note:

I need to assemble a prayer team to walk with me through the writing of this book. If you are interested in helping cover this project in prayer please let Holly know by sending her a quick e-mail to: Lysa1@Proverbs31.org. We'll send you updated prayer requests about specific details with the project.

Happy 4th y'all.

And thank you again for praying for my mom and my trip to be with her this weekend.

And then she played the part of stinky girl

Hello to this day where life is quite simply happening. You know the kind. Whew... sorry for the later than normal posting.

Anywho....

So, this past weekend I had me a good ol' fashioned SIT-U-ATION!

It started with this really horrible smell.

When I say really horrible, I mean really bad. Like the go get a clothes pin on your nose and start making a new fashion statement- kind of bad.

I first smelled it when one of the conference officials asked me to sign some papers. I reached into Holly's tote bag, retrieved the papers, and started signing them. And they STUNK!

But clearly being some sort of paper expert, I reasoned that sometimes paper mills smell a little sour so these papers must have carried that unfortunate smell with them from the factory. I even quipped to gal tapping on the clip board beside me, "These papers smell funny. Did you smell them?"

She just looked at me, smiled, and must have rationalized I was having some sort of pre-stage delusion.

Then she took the stinky papers and was off.

But the smell lingered.

I next smelled it when I pulled my Bible out of the tote bag and flipped to mark a few Scriptures I'd be addressing during my message.

Whew! Peeeeeee-UUUUUUU! Oh my stars, my Bible smelled so awful. Clearly this was some sort of demonic attack with all sorts of symbolism.

What in the world was happening? Everything around me smelled horrid. I walked around the church trying to escape the smell but it was everywhere.

Finally I went into a bathroom stall to sniff my way into an explanation. Y'all I could not for the life of me figure out where the smell was coming from. And I was supposed to step up on stage in front of 800 women in just mere moments. Women who would afterwards want to come up and talk to me.

Hello????!!!! "I'm sorry Lysa is unavailable to sign books tonight because she ummmm... stinks?"

Panic was choking the breath out of me as I slinked into the church and sat in my assigned seat. Next to all "Big Name" speakers. Who, by the way, all smelled lovely.

"Lord if there was ever a time to part a little red sea for me, now would be it. Please numb everyone's sense of smell in this place. Or, do like you did when you turned water into wine and ummmm turn stink smell into rose petals... please?"

I pretended everything was fine as I got my conference booklet out of the tote bag and flipped it open to take notes. Unhunh... it stunk too.

Meanwhile, Holly is having her own set of stink issues. When she pulled the book stands out of the tote bag to set up the book table, the smell about knocked her over. "Hmmmm, these are some stinky book stands she reasoned. "

But neither of us mentioned to the other our great smell concerns.

UNTIL...

Half way through another speaker's talk I reached into the side pocket of the tote bag to retrieve a pen and felt something that was not a pen. I pulled this soft, squishy, thing out of the side pocket and THE SMELL intensified to epic proportions.

It was Holly's son's bathing suit that had been placed in that side pocket of the bag when it was very wet with salt water--- TWO WEEKS AGO.

Y'all there is no smell like rank, stale, salty ocean water fermenting inside a balled up bathing suit stuffed inside a nylon tote bag pocket.

It was the perfect recipe for some sort of gas that I'm positive was TOXIC.

The next day, I was determined to be the best smelling speaker at the conference. I came armed with my "Dream" Gap perfume and a quest to make sure people do know I have heard of a word called 'hygiene.'

When I was all alone in the backstage green room, I sprayed everything. My front, my underarms, my hair, and my Bible.

YUM!

About that time a few people from the praise band walked in. The lead singer guy, without hesitation quipped, "Whew. What is that awful smell? I mean that is just horrid."

To which his friend said, "Yeah. I think they just replaced the plug ins back here. Ewwwfff, someone needs to tell them to chill with the smells dude."

And with that a giant black hole swallowed me whole only to regurgitate me onto the main stage where I was speaking just seconds later. Stink and all. Have mercy.

But I just don't want to wait

Timing.

Sometimes this means being in the right place- at the right time- and then all the right that you ever hoped would happen does.

But sometimes it is a bummer of a word. When someone tells you the timing just isn't right, it means there is a wait. And waiting is hard.

Last night Brooke had a friend over to spend the night. Just about the time my eyes were closing and dreams were brimming on the edge of my consciousness, I heard a little person ask me if she and her friend could make something.

It was getting late. The kitchen was closed for the day. The teeth had been brushed. And I was in no mood to snap back to life.

But then again, it is summer. And if there is ever a time to break a few bedtime rules and really throw caution to the wind it should be now.

So, I surprised her with a yes.

Oh the thrill of an unexpected yes.

And to make matters even better, it would be an unsupervised, unexpected yes. Really could life get any better for two nine year old bakers?

Soon there was whipping and stirring and giggling and tasting and ohhhhing and ahhhhing. And finally there was baking.

But do you know how hard it is to smell a cake of the chocolate variety baking and not want to rush the process?

Do you know how torturous it is to stand nose to glass at the oven door willing a cake to rise. At the first evidence of the batter turning into something less liquid, I imagine a great debate ensued.

The directions clearly said how long the cake needed to bake. But the visual evidence begged otherwise. "Well, it looks done. It smells done. It feels like it should be done. We want it to be done. So, let's just call it done. "

And with that, the two bakers talked their older sister into removing the cake from the oven and turning off that pesky little timer that was a clear visual warning against the early removal of the cake.

Immediately, they flipped the cake out of the pan, covered it with icing and grabbed two plates.

Suddenly, the cake imploded. Imagine a sink hole. A tasty sink hole, but a definite sink hold non the less.

What looked so perfect just minutes before could not hold up under the weight of its undone center.

I think there's quite a spiritual correlation there.

___________________________________________________________________

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the beautiful prayers you wrote for my mom yesterday. I was quite simply stunned by your response. I was able to get a last minute plane ticket to be able to go visit my mom this weekend. Your prayers will be my companion. You have no idea how much that means.