The Importance of Family Time...and Shopping! by Katy Lee

Happy Thanksgiving, all. Katy Lee here. Today is Black Friday, and I am gearing up to head out on the town. But this year is a little different than years' past.

This year, I picked up my daughter from college and packed up the family, and we headed north into the mountains of Vermont. I wanted to have a full, long weekend away with just my immediate family together as we haven't all been together since my oldest left for school. Next year, I will have two away in school. My house is shrinking, and the empty nest is happening so fast.

So as I write this, I am sitting slope-slide watching skiers zip by the windows and listening to my children talk and laugh over breakfast. They, too have missed being together and needed this time as much as I did. Each year I realize more and more how I must be thankful for these gifts from God.

And time really is a gift that no store can sell.

It is my hope my children will learn this well too. And I think they are, judging by their excitement to head down to the quint Vermont villages and walk along the glass window displays together. Maybe throw a few snowballs and have a cup of hot chocolate, too. And yesterday, my three competitive swimmers lined up in the pool and showed their sibling rivalry in race after race. All in good jest, of course. Even the hotel's lifeguards got in on the action. It was great fun for all.

My point being, you don't have to spend a lot of money to spend time together. The gift of time is free. What you do need to do is recognize Time as the gift itself. Make the effort to enjoy each other's company. Play some games. And of course, laugh. Laugh as much as possible. That, too, can't be bought.

Enjoy your day, all! I saw a great consignment shop in the village that us girls are excited to find some hidden gems! I hope you find something special this week of Thanksgiving too!

Katy Lee has penned fifteen published novels. She writes suspenseful romances and mysteries that thrill and inspire the reader—from the edge of their seat. A native New Englander, Katy loves to knit warm wooly things. She enjoys traveling the side-roads and exploring the locals’ hideaways. A homeschooling mom of three competitive swimmers, Katy often writes from the stands while cheering them on. Two of her books have received a RITA® and a Daphne du Maurier award nomination. She has won an Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award as well a Selah Award for her book Blindsided.

New Beginnings

Hello Readers, Katy Lee here. Today I dropped my oldest daughter off at her college dorm. It's been a mixed emotion kind of day for all, but as Mom I did my best to set the atmosphere as positive and upbeat.

Change is always scary, and I could see the fear in my daughter's eyes as I said goodbye and walked away. I had hoped she didn't see the same look in mine. I'm sure it was there.

Fear of the unknown is real, but dreams come true on the other side of fear. Her dreams for herself, and my dreams for her. As a parent, all we can do is encourage them to push through the fear. As a writer, I hope I have shown her how to do it.

My children have watched their mom go after her dreams of being a writer and have seen what putting myself out there looks like. They've seen the fear. They've seen the hard work. And they've seen the dreams come true on the other side.

I know my daughter will push through her fear, and I look forward to the next time I see her when I will see how her courage had turned into dreams come true.

But for tonight, I will smile through a few tears.

Question: Have you had to push through a fear to achieve your dreams?

Thank you for stopping by!

Katy Lee

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

An empty house--Lenora Worth

We just packed up our son and watched him drive away to a new college. He'd been going to the local college for two years but he was ready for a new adventure away from home and living with his parents. I don't blame him. I grew up on a rural cross road in Georgia and I used to stand out in my front yard and think which road I'd take whenever it was time for me to leave. I couldn't wait to do just that.

But I chose marriage over college and moved to the big city of Atlanta. I felt like I could finally breathe and I knew I would be on my own grand adventure. Soon, we were living in a cute apartment and we had a baby to raise. My grand adventure involved formula and diapers and long walks around the complex, pushing a baby stroller. We had our ups and downs but when I look back and realize how very young we were I'm amazed that we found our way through. So I don't know why I worry about my two grown children. They will survive and thrive just the way my husband and I did. We had our share of ups and downs, money problems and issues. But we held tight and made it through.

These are the kind of stories we write in our books--stories of real life struggles and worries, stories of happy moments and true joy and stories of triumph over pain. Love always wins out; this is the very foundation of what we write.

And tonight, while I sit here listening to the quiet in my house, I know love will win out with those I care about the most. The same moon I see out the window is shining down on those I love, no matter where they are. And God in his wisdom will watch over them. I can breathe again because this crossroad is just another path on a long journey. As long as we have Christ as our Truth North, we can always find our way. Have you ever taken a different path that changed your life?

Allie Pleiter on Launching

“T minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6...."

It’s launch-month at our house. As if we didn’t have enough chaos already.

When I planned to have my children four years apart, I thought I was so clever. Such a nice age span between them. My four year old daughter was a delight--even if an enthusiastic one--helping with her new baby brother. I’d counted on that.

I hadn’t figured on this year’s double-whammy of double-graduations and double-launches. This spring, we graduated one from middle school and one from high school--within two weeks of each other. And now, we’re launching a pair of freshmen--one high school and one off to college. Some days it feels like I’m flinging my babies into an unknown future. Most days, though, I’m excited for the adventures ahead of them and gratified to know they both seem ready for the new season of their lives. Of our lives. One vital portion of our parenting is coming to an end. Wow.

Still, I realize they’re not leaving me (well, one of them is going halfway across he country, but you know what I mean). I’m launching them. I hope this viewpoint keeps me from being one of those moms who sobs the whole drive back from dropping off my daughter at college. (Yes, I realize I might post next month about how I really did sob--then I’ll publicly eat my words). I’ll probably sniffle a bit, but I’m more excited than mournful. She’s off to a new world that’s far from me and then again not far at all. After all, I suspect I’ll get three texts the first day. If not four. If not Skyped. Technology means I’ll never be far from my daughter’s ear nor she mine if she needs me.

I’d like to think she won’t need me much. I’ve tried to parent with the constant notion that my goal here is to create an independent, competent adult. One that hopefully lands a job and gets her own apartment after graduation (who knew that’d be such a rare instance these days??). One who loves to come back and visit because she knows she is welcome and loved and accepted. And won’t mind that her mom has probably turned her room into a knitting studio...not that I’m making plans or anything. Not that her brother’s thrilled to have a bathroom that will no longer be filled with hair care products and misplaced earrings.

So readers, what about you? Who are you launching these days? How are you feeling about it?