Choices, Choices by Christine Johnson

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…" Robert Frost wrote one of my favorite poems, The Road Not Taken, describing the choices and decisions we must make on life's journey.

Do you remember that key moment when you faced a huge decision that you felt sure would change the rest of your life? Many years ago as a college student who desperately wanted to write stories, I faced the choice of pursuing that dream or opting for the sure-thing in a business career. Since I had almost no money in the bank, the dream seemed beyond reach.

In my upcoming May release, Love by Design, Jen Fox faces a choice between her dream of joining the expedition aiming to be the first to fly over the North Pole or a solid career in nursing. She has no savings, and flying cost a lot of money. Moreover, she could sign up for a hospital nursing program that cost nothing beyond her clothing and a few supplies. The choice seems obvious.

Since I'm currently writing for Love Inspired Historical, you might assume I chose to follow my dream, and you'd be partially right. I did finish a bachelor's degree in English. However, I took that degree into librarianship for many years, setting aside my dream. It was never forgotten, though, and the Lord blessed me by bringing it to fruition at just the right time.

Which path did you choose?

Christine Johnson

Love by Design (Dressmaker's Daughters #3, LIH, May 2015)

Love's Rescue (Keys of Promise #1, Revell, June 2015)

http://christineelizabethjohnson.com

http://www.facebook.com/ChristineJohnsonAuthor

The Road Less Traveled

Christine Johnson here today to talk about roads. That might not sound terribly exciting, but roads (and paths) are an oft-used metaphor for life's journey. 

Long ago when I was in school, one of my favorite poems was Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” I loved the imagery of the fork in the road and the choice of which path to take—well-trodden or less traveled. How easy to take the interstate expressway, yet by doing so we miss the treasures found on narrow byways.

Sometimes the road or path might seem frightening. Here I am hiking high above the road in Glacier National Park…and thinking that the road might have been the better option!

Back in the 1920s, there were no expressways. Most roads were dirt or gravel and heavily rutted. Car tires blew out frequently. Carrying spares was a necessity. I can’t recall the last time I checked my spare, least of all used it. Lumber states, like Michigan in its early years, sometimes paved roads with slabs of wood so wagons and buggies wouldn’t get stuck in the mud. Some of those survived into the twentieth century. I can imagine the teeth-chattering washboard effect of driving on slab wood. The hero and heroine in my upcoming release, Suitor by Design, end up on one of those old roads under the worst of circumstances.

I still enjoy a scenic road. I love the possibilities around each bend or at each fork. During this summer’s trip to Mt. Rainier National Park, we found this wood suspension bridge at Longmire. My husband and I walked across the bridge, which was only wide enough for one car to cross at a time.

What interesting byways have you found in your travels? Do you have a favorite drive or bridge? Which fork in the road did you choose, and where did it lead you?

Christine Johnson

Suitor by Design (LIH, October 2014)

http://christineelizabethjohnson.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChristineJohnsonAuthor

Twitter: @ChristineJWrite

Lyn Cote here-Soap or Body Wash? And Maybe a Bit of Old Spice or Ivory?

Lyn Cote's here tackling Keeping Track of "what you keep clean with."
I know, I know--how does she come up with this stuff???

Well, it's the way my mind works.

Have you ever noticed how "THEY" keep coming up with new ways of doing things--
like reading books on a Kindle or Nook instead of paper?
Or using a handful of ruffled plastic instead of a washcloth?
Or liquid soap from a bottle instead of a bar of soap?

The topic of this blog post is not who THEY are but that THEY change the way we do things.

I remember going to a talk when my son was in boy scouts and listening to a leader who had visited Russia during the days of Communist government. The one thing I remember (this was a long time ago!) is that the Russians had only one kind of soap--period. I mean they had one soap to wash their clothes, the floor and themselves.

THE MIND BOGGLES. Just thing of all the brands of cleaning products and soap we have in even a small store like Dollar General. Anyway, the idea of only one soap is ghastly but on the other extreme, did we really need liquid soap in the shower?

I mean wasn't soap on a rope enough?? GRIN

Anyway, which do you use? Soap or body wash? And why--I want to know.

Also I asked my latest heroine Jeannie and her hero Jake (from Daddy in the Making) what they used --soap or body wash. Both were definitely soap people. Jeannie used Ivory because it was gentle on her skin and her twin nieces. Jake used whatever he found in the shower. He's a busy vet and his late grandfather's best friend keeps house for him so he doesn't have time to bother about such stuff.

BTW, if you drop over to my blog today, you can find out how to win a copy of Daddy in the Making that will hit your local Walmart. BTW, if you leave a comment HERE with your email address (using dot and at), I'll put your name in the hat and draw a winner for one autographed copy! What a deal!

So what's your choice--soap or body wash? And what brand? (Yes, I am nosey.)
And what about the Old Spice Man video????