My Kind of Friendship Poem by Cheryl Wyatt

My sister sent this to me by e-mail. I thought I'd share it with you all. Not sure who the original author is, but this friendship poem cracked me up because it is SO me.

Enjoy!

None of that Sissy Stuff

Are you tired of those sissy 'friendship' poems?
Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship.
You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this-
Just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.

1. When you are sad --I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.
3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.
4. When you're scared -- we will high tail it out of here.
5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!!!!
6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.
7. When you are sick --Stay away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.
8. When you fall -- I'll pick you up and dust you off--
After I laugh my butt off!!
9. This is my oath...I pledge it to the end. 'Why?' you may ask -- because you are my FRIEND!

Friendship is like peeing your pants,
everyone can see it,
but only you can feel the true warmth.

Send this to 10 of your closest friends,
Then get depressed because you can only think
of 4.

Cheryl here...isn't that cute? LOL! I also wanted to mention my upcoming April 1 release (but it should be in stores any day now and can be ordered anywhere online that books are sold) titled Ready-Made Family.

In the book, the heroine is new to town and is in need of friendship among other things. The kindness of people, reaching out to her without agenda helped to restore her faith in church and in Christians as well as let her know that God wasn't holding her past against her. She prays for a good friend and God sends more than she asked for.

Have you ever prayed for a friend and had that answered? I'd love to hear your story.

Talk away!

Cheryl Wyatt

A Friend Is...

To me, a friend is many things.

A friend is someone who tells you when you have ink on your face or whip cream on your nose. A friend is someone who helps you justify how red polka dot shoes could be practical and worth the cash. A friend is someone who calls just to say hi or calls because they felt God telling them to. A friend is someone who can finish your sentences, knows what drink you order at Starbucks, and understands that the concept of sharing cheesecake means ordering two different flavors and splitting both. A friend is someone who knows your secrets and see the inner places of your heart and loves you anyway.

But above all, a friend is there. Just...there.

I am blessed to have 3 best friends. One local, the other two living many states away. Yet because we share so much in common and love each other so dearly, the miles don't matter. Distance doesn't have an effect on the concept of "there" - a fact which my two far-away besties have proved a thousand times over.

In no particular order, let me introduce to you Best Friend #1 - Lori Chally. My true sisterchick! (Robin Jones Gunn fans will know the meaning of this term!) A fellow writer and lover of shoes, purses and all things vintage. My Lori is so unique, and her writing is amazing. I can't wait for her to be published - its going to be HUGE. =)

Lori and I share a lot of things, and last year, we even shared pregnancy. Yep, we were both pregnant at the same time, I was about 3 months ahead of her. In my 8th month, Lori flew down from Kansas to spend a long weekend with me. Talk about fun times! Here's a pic. (we might not look very pregnant here but its because we had such great dresses. lol)

We antique shopped, had a strawberry pie/Grease marathon night, ate crawfish, and got foot massages. It was such a perfect weekend! And Lori was amazing to make the trip, while preggo and uncomfy herself, to be there for me.

Best Friend #2 is Katie Smiley. Katie is my local bestie and a beautiful redhead. Her husband says the redheaded-temper concept is very true, but I've never seen it. Katie is a fantastic friend, someone who has been there for me for years, and is wonderful at encouragement and commiseration. Guess what? She got pregnant about 5 months into my pregnancy. Talk about great minds! =)

Here's a preggo pic of the two of us - me very far along, her not very at all. (wow, I gotta quit posting pics of me being fat!!! lol)

Katie isn't a writer, but she is an avid reader and a huge fan of....me! What a friend. =)

And last but oh so NOT least is Best Friend #3 - Georgiana Daniels. Another far-away bestie, this gal pal lives in Arizona and is such an amazing woman. Stay at home mom of 3 (including 2 tots!) and a fellow writer. How does she do it? Georgiana is one of my best critique buds and a wonderful listener. I can never get through a day without her uplifting emails.

Georgiana (doesn't she look great in red!) is a fellow ACFW member with me and Lori, and is well on her way to publication. She is also my fellow Type A - we thrive on routine! Georgiana is always good for a laugh, an email hug, or a prayer request. I don't know what I'd do without her! (and surprisingly no, we were not ever pregnant at the same time. haha)


Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls for he has no one to help him up. Ecclesiastes 4:9

And I have three!!! =)


What I especially love is that all of my "besties" were brought to me in a very special way. Lori and I met at an ACFW writers conference, Georgiana and I met through the ACFW chat forums, and Katie and I found each other again through the publication of my first novel with The Wild Rose Press - Midnight Angel. She heard of my book, bought it, read it, saw my email on the "contact author" page, and wrote me to tell me how much she enjoyed it. Only God could have concocted these divine meetings! =)



Take a moment to thank God today for the friendships in your life. (and be careful if one of your besties turns up pregnant! haha)

Firefly Lane

Since we’re talking about Friendship this month I wanted to share a book I recently read by the incomparable Kristin Hannah.
They were known as the Firefly Lane girls--a single, inseparable unit. The best friends promise to be there for each other forever--and for 30 years, that promise holds strong. Then events and choices make that promise impossible.
I don’t normally read women’s fiction, no particular reason other than I gravitate more toward romance and romantic suspense novels. I did enjoyed this book on so many different levels, partly because so much of the cultural references over the book’s thirty year span I could relate to, as well as, relating very closely with Kate, one of the lead characters. At times funny, nostalgic and unforgettable, Firefly Lane hooked me from the first paragraph until the very end.
Warning, though, have a box of tissue close at hand.

The Real Story of My Best Friend

"Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver but the other's gold." I remember this poem from Brownies. Ah, Friendship. One of God's richest blessings. Let's have some fun with it. Please answer the following questions. Then, match your answers to the numbers in the story.

1. Name a Profession
2. Name a Restaurant
3. Name an unusual animal
4. Name a type of business
5. Your Name
6. Number 1 – 10
7. Favorite Food
8. A Question You Ask Someone The First Day You meet
9. Another Number 1 – 20
10. Name a City
11. Name Something You Do for Fun
12. Name a Holiday Location
13. Your Best Friend’s Name
14. Another Question You Ask Someone The First Day You Meet
15. Name Something Friends Do Together
16. Name a Well-known Party


Once upon a time there were two women who lived in the same town but did not know each other. One was a single [put number 1]; the other was a married, mother of [put number 6], part owner of a [put number 4]. [put number 5], the [put number 1], usually woke up late, rushed to work after eating a [put number 7], taught until five, then mostly for fun [put number 11] and went to church. Late at night, she wrote romances. [put number 13], the business owner, woke up, got the family ready, went into her office and ran a company. Then, in the evenings, she took care of her two children, husband, and various pets including dogs, cats, horses, mules, chickens, and even a [put number 3]. Here and there, she found time to write romances.

One Friday night both of them wound up in the the Romance Chat Room on the old AOL Romance Boards. There were probably more than twenty wannabee romances authors in that room all talking and dreaming and making friends. To this day, [number 5] and [number 13] don’t remember who asked “[put number 8]?” But, it doesn’t matter because they both said [put number 10].

Huh?

Since they were in a Romance Chat Room, it only made sense for [number 5] to say, “[Put number 14]?” [number 13] understood the question, and she decided to attend the next meeting both because she was writing a romance, because they’d discovered they both liked to [put number 11] and because it would be neat to meet [number 5].

Fast forward [put number 9] years.

[number 5] and [number 13] are best friends. They’ve roomed together at [put number 12]. [number 5] has babysat [number 13’s] twins. [number 13] was in [number 5]’s wedding. Of course she was the Maid of Honor. [number 5] has forced [number 13] to attend a [put number 16] party when [number 13] was tired, grumpy, and lost and had decided to give it up and go home. That night Cathy was to get the local chapter’s Desert Rose Award for being member of the year award. [number 13] was one of the first to know when [number 5] found out she was pregnant. [number 5] has watched [number 13]’s daughter perform in Little Shop of Horrors. [number 5] has watched [number 13’s son play football. [number 5] and [number 13, along with two others, are in a [put number 15] that meets at [put number 2] every two weeks. They’ve done this for seven years.




And now for the real story!
Once upon a time there were two women who lived in the same town but did not know each other. One was a single schoolteacher; the other was a married, mother of two, part owner of a construction company. Pamela, the schoolteacher, usually woke up late, rushed to work after eating a pop tart, taught until five, then mostly for fun played competitive softball and went to church. Late at night, she wrote romances. Cathy, the business owner, woke up, got the family ready, went into her office and ran a company. Then, in the evenings, she took care of her two children, husband, and various pets including dogs, cats, horses, mules, chickens, and even a pig. Here and there, she found time to write romances.

One Friday night both of them wound up in the the Romance Chat Room on the old AOL Romance Boards. There were probably more than twenty wannabee romances authors in that room all talking and dreaming and making friends. To this day, Pam and Cathy don’t remember who asked “Where do you live?” But, it doesn’t matter because they both said Phoenix.

Huh?

Since they were in a Romance Chat Room, it only made sense for Pam to say, “Have you heard of RWA?” Cathy had, and she decided to attend the next meeting both because she was writing a romance and because it would be neat to meet Pam.

Fast forward fifteen years.

Pam and Cathy are best friends. They’ve roomed together at romance conferences. Pam has babysat Cathy’s twins. Cathy was in Pam’s wedding. Of course she was the Maid of Honor. Pam has forced Cathy to attend a Membership Appreciation Night when Cathy was tired, grumpy, and lost and had decided to give it up and go home. That night Cathy was to get the local chapter’s Desert Rose Award for being member of the year award. If not for Pam, Cathy would have missed the fanfare. Cathy was one of the first to know when Pam found out she was pregnant. Pam has watched Cathy’s daughter perform in Little Shop of Horrors. Pam has watched Cathy’s son play football. Pam and Cathy, along with two others, are in a critique group that meets at IHOP every two weeks. They’ve done this for seven years.

The real number 5, Pamela Tracy, sold to Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired line. Her next release is in August. It’s called Fugitive Family.
The real number 13, Cathy McDavid, sold to Harlequin American. Her next release is in June. It’s called Waiting for Baby.

Heroine Interview from Home to Crossroads Ranch

Interview with the heroine from Home to Crossroads Ranch by Linda Goodnight:

1. Rainy Jernagen, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

Oh, that one’s easy. My kids! I’m a foster mom, though a lot of people think I’m nuts, mostly because I’m single. But I’m not nuts. (Well, maybe a little.) I just love kids, especially the ones having a tough time of it.

I also do puppet shows. You know, the puppet ministry at church. The kids love it. There I go again, talking about kids.

2. What do you do for fun?

Sleep, maybe? Just kidding but I am pretty busy with my four foster kids. Right now, we’re spending a lot of time at Nate Del Rio’s ranch. He’s a sweet guy (really cute, too) from my church. He lets me bring the kids out to his place so they can learn about animals, ride horses, and play with his dog. I don’t think he really wanted them to come, but I sort of twisted his arm. I’m good at that.

3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?

I really dread facing my neighbor, Kathy. She causes a lot of trouble in the neighborhood. Right now, she has this vendetta against me and my foster children. She wants them out of my house and away from her grandson. What does she think they’ll do, give him the plague? I don’t begin to understand a person like that, but she sure is trouble.

4. What are you afraid of most in life?

I recently applied to adopt my four foster children. There’s always the worry that the birth parents will object, especially because I’m single. It would break my heart to lose them now that I love them so much.

5. What do you want out of life?

God called me to minister to children, whether as a teacher, a puppet minister or as a foster mom. I want to do that to the best of my ability. But I’d like a husband too. I have to tell you, I’m getting a real crush on Nate, but he’s kind of different around the kids. One minute he seems to like them. The next he’s cranky and gruff. Do you think there’s any hope with a man like that?

6. What is the most important thing to you?

I grew up in such a great family, so after my relationship with the Lord, family is top priority. You probably guessed that one already, huh?

7. Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read?

I love to read. I’m a teacher, remember!? Lately, I read mostly children’s books but when I get the chance I love to curl up with my killer chocoholic brownies and a fun, romantic comedy. Hey, if you love brownies, don’t miss the recipe at the end of my book. Yum!

8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Well, nobody ever said I was beautiful, so that would be nice. But I’m a decent person and I have really great taste in shoes. Nate teases about my ‘city-slicker’ boots but I think he likes them.

9. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

Not officially. The kids all want a pet but I have neither the time nor the room for an animal. And imagine how my troublesome neighbor, Kathy, would complain about a barking dog or a prowling cat! Instead, the kids and I head out to Crossroads Ranch and play with the animals there. I think Nate has something up his sleeve in this area. The girls keep hinting. We’ll have to see what that’s all about.

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

I would go back to the time and place where my little Katie was abused and keep it from happening. Somehow. She’s come a long way with counseling, love and prayer, but abuse like that leaves a big scar on an innocent child’s heart.

FEATURED TODAY: HOME TO CROSSROADS RANCH BY LINDA GOODNIGHT

Finally, Rainy Jernagen has the child-filled home she's always wanted! Okay, so she still hasn't found Mr. Right, but the foster kids she's taken in fill her heart almost completely. Then handyman/rancher Nate Del Rio comes knocking, and Rainy starts to wonder if she really can have it all. There's only one problem: Nate doesn't want kids. At all. And nothing Rainy says will change his mind. Of course, she's not going to let that stop her. Not when she has a houseful of adorable allies to raid Nate's ranch and win his heart—whether he likes it or not.

Long-distance Friends

I often envy people who have lived in a place for many years and have good friends—friends they have known for years—whom they see all the time. I've moved a lot, so many of the friends I have known for years all live some place else. I've lived in South Dakota, Montana, Washington State, Tennessee, Ohio, Georgia, Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois and Florida. I have collected friends from all those states, but I rarely get to see them. That's the sad part and thus my envy of those who get to see friends on a regular basis.

I have a large Christmas card list filled the names of friends we rarely see. I catch up with them this one time of the year. However, because I moved so much, I lost track of some of them over the years. Some of them have moved as well. I often wonder what happened to the couple that we used to play cards with every week when we were first married and living in a small town in Ohio over thirty years ago. She gave me a recipe for pizza dough that I still use to this day, and I get raves on my homemade pizza thanks to that recipe.

We met another couple in that same small town and fortunately, even with all our moves, we have managed to stay in contact. I attribute this to the fact that the men both worked in the healthcare field and had mutual business interests that kept them in touch through the years. We have been on numerous vacations together, and we always have a great time. When we get together, we just pick up where we left off.

When we lived in the Atlanta area, we found some good friends at our church who have a daughter the same age as one of our daughters. Although we don't see each other very often, we have attended the weddings of each others' children and have shared a lot of games of Trivial Pursuit. Last spring they were kind enough to let me stay with them at their place up in the north Georgia mountains so I could do research for my book, Homecoming Blessings, that comes out in April this year.

When we lived in Dallas, we had a group of friends that were in our small group Bible study each week. We had a bond because we were all the parents of teenagers. All of those teenagers are adults, and now we parents share photos of weddings and grandchildren.

I have maintained contact with one of my best friends from high school. Whenever I'm in the Spokane area, we get together. What a treat! She helped me with the research for my book, Love Walked In. I have reconnected with a number of friends who happened to learn about my books. Two of these folks helped me with the research on my January book, Mommy's Hometown Hero. I am amazed at how God worked to bring me in contact with people from my past just when they had the information I needed.

Just a few days ago, I received an e-mail from a fellow teacher, who taught across the hall from me when we were living in Georgia. She just happened to see my book on the shelf at the grocery store and recognized my name. It was wonderful to find out about the things she has been doing since we moved away.

I thank God for all the people he has brought into my life and the friendships I have made in each stop I've made in my life. Whenever I start to envy those who have long-time friends living right where they do, I realize I wouldn't have friends spread across the country if it weren't for the fact that I have moved so many times. Also, He has brought me my many long-distance writing friends.

Tell us about some of your long-distance friends.
Merrillee

Man's...I mean woman's best friend.

Man’s best friend

This is picture of my very best non-human friend. Her name is Sadie. Sometimes I call her Sadie Sue and sometimes, You miserable Mutt. As you can see, she is waiting patiently for me to finish my work and take her out to play. Sadie lives to have me throw her doggy Frisbee. I think I'm her very best human friend...as long as the grandkids aren't here.

My dog is a yellow lab + something else mix that we brought home from the pound nine months ago. Life with Sadie is never dull. If she isn’t knocking over the trash can, eating my pens or shredding paper, she is rolling her tennis ball under my bed and trying to crawl under after it. Since she has to lay on her side to actually wiggle her 70 pounds under the bed, it’s hysterical watching her try. There is no gift quite as meaningful as a slobbery tennis ball plunked in your lap by a dog who is obviously delighted to share with you.

Isn’t that the best thing about friends? They light up our lives.

Friends make us smile even if we’re feeling down. Friends make us laugh. They give us memories to treasure, and encouragement when we need it the most. Friends, human and non-human alike are among God’s greatest gifts to us. Take a minute today and call a friend you haven’t talked to in a while. Share a laugh and make a new memory. Give a friend a hug.

Me? I’m taking Sadie and the Frisbee outside.

Pat

My critique group

This month we're talking about friendship and I have to mention my critique group. We've been together for 5 or 6 years (I've lost count of exactly how many). What is so special about them is their support. What started as a critique group to help each other with our writing has grown into a circle of friends who share a love of the Lord and writing. I love brainstorming with them. I love spending time with them. We usually spend once a month meeting at one of our houses, eating, talking about our books and enjoying each other's company. If something happens to one, the others are their for support, an ear to listen and encouragement. That's friendship.

I want to thank Therese, Vickie, Gloria, Caron and Jan for sharing their life with me. What group of friends has blessed your life?

Friendship and shoes

Okay, this is Lenora. You knew I'd have to have some shoes in there, right? I have lots of good friends now. It's such a blessing to have girlfriends. (I'll get to the shoes in a minute.) When I was growing up, it seemed hard for me to make friends at school. I was the country bumpkin who didn't hang with the social set in our small town. I guess I was an outcast, but that's okay. Because I was alone with my thoughts a lot, I think it helped me to become a writer. Anyway, I was the youngest of seven children. So I was what I call a "lonely child." I was also very shy (hard to believe for those who know me now.) I had a few good friends growing up but when I got married and moved away from that small town and the farm, I discovered I'd have to reach out to people if I wanted friends. But I truly found a pack of friends when I got involved in church after being away for a few years. There I met a group of women over twenty years ago who are still my friends now. We've watched our children grow up together, we've been through births and weddings and funerals together and we've laughed and cried together. We've even had fights and disagreed with each other but we're still friends. I had to learn that having a friend doesn't mean you'll have someone just like you and that friends don't have to be perfect. And, neither do I. You know you have a good friend when you try on clothes together and one of you gets stuck in a strange "girdle" type undergarment or a too tight cocktail dress. Only a true friend would help out in that kind of situation, after she stopped laughing, of course. You know you have a true friend when one of you gets food poisoning and the other one is willing to nurse you until you feel better. And you know you have a true friend when you go shoe shopping and try to hide the evidence from your husband and she whispers, "You can put those shopping bags in my trunk for now if you want to." You know you have a true friend when she takes the time to lather you with sunscreen at the beach so you won't burn. And you know you have a true friend when you get stopped for speeding and she leans over and says to the nice officer "Do you know you're about to give a ticket to a famous writer, sir?" and somehow convinces him to give you just a warning. These are just some of the adventures I've had with my friends. And some adventures shall remain a secret until we all die! But that's the beauty of friends. They're like shoes--some are as comfortable as your old sandals, others are all girly and dressy and ready to take on the world, some are warm and fuzzy like your favorite bedroom slippers and some are as solid and sturdy as your favorite walking shoes. Friends, just as shoes, come in all colors and shapes and styles. Isn't it nice to know that no matter what kind of day you're having, you can call an old friend and most likely she'll come running to be there for you. This is the beauty of frienship....."our sandals have become old because of the very long journey"--Joshua 9:13 Even though our sandals might now be old, our friendships have become rich with memories and the patina of a lasting love. And this journey of friendship will continue to evolve and grow through laughter and tears. And a few shoe clearance sales, too.

Lenora :)

A Friends Prayer

My friend Sharon moved to town a few years ago and since she didn't know anyone she prayed that God would give her a Christian friend. I owned my hair salon at that time and she walked in for a haircut--and that was that, we connected instantly. God gave Sharon me :) I think that is really kind of cool--not being a big head or anything but really it was cool. But coolest of all was that I got the better end of that prayer because Sharon has been like a real soul mate to me and is the person I can go to to talk about anything. Yes she prayed for a friend but I needed her friendship and didn't even know it! She has been such a blessing to me and I pray I've been a blessing to her. A few years later she moved away but even that hasn't changed our friendship, we still get together a few times a year to hang out. When my husband died Sharon dropped everything and came to me. She'd been through the same thing and she understood and was able to be there for me in ways that no other friends could be. I hope I've been as good a friend to her as she has been to me. I thank God every day for her prayer for a friend. God knew what I needed when He put Sharon in my life.

Friendships are blessings that God gives us. Have you ever prayed for a good friend or been the answer to a new friend's prayer?

Hero's Interview from A Soldier for Keeps by Jillian Hart

Interview with the hero: (Pierce Granger from A Soldier For Keeps)

1. Pierce Granger, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

I’m an Army Ranger just back from deployment in the Middle East. I’m committed to my country, my family and my friends.

2. What do you do for fun?

I love downhill skiing. That’s how I met Lexie. She’s this great girl I’m crazy about.

3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?

Laundry. Grocery shopping. Talking about my feelings.

4. What are you afraid of most in life?

I’m not afraid of anything…except the idea of living life without Lexie.

5. What do you want out of life?

To know that I’ve done the right thing to the best of my ability every step of the way.

6. What is the most important thing to you?

Lexie.

7. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?

Something with a lot of action.

8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would want to be better at not avoiding talking about my feelings.

9. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

I love dogs. The dog I grew up with still lives with my folks. His name is Roger and he’s a sheep dog.

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

I would want to serve in World War II.

FEATURED TODAY: A SOLDIER FOR KEEPS BY JILLIAN HART

Lexie Evans is not looking for a relationship with Pierce Granger. And that’s just fine by the handsome soldier. Neither one has time for romance, but they can both commit to friendship, right? Then, after months as pen pals, Pierce visits Lexie’s family ranch in Wyoming. Face-to-face with her friend, Lexie realizes her feelings toward him have changed. She’s finally ready for love—but is Pierce ready to be hers for keeps?

Old Friends are New Part 2

Missy Tippens again, continuing with part two of my post from yesterday. I'd like to introduce you to my good friend, Lindi Peterson. I did an interview with Lindi about friendship. And as I promised, she dishes a little "dirt" on me. :)

M: What do you consider the most important characteristic of a good friend?

L: Loyalty.

M: What things do you have in common with your best friends?

L: Faith, laughter, interests, compassion, willing to listen when a friend needs it.

M: What are your favorite activities to do with friends?

L: Get together and hang out and talk. I love writers retreats with my writer friends, I love bowling with my friends, I love family reunions where I can see my family. Generally I really like being around people.

M: Okay, I promised you'd tell something funny or embarrassing about me. So I give you permission to share. :)

L: I hope this isn't too embarrassing but I love how we can room together because I sleep through anything and apparently you snore, but I don't hear you---oh, unless you scream in your sleep--now that I do hear!! I would like to add that it's easy being friends with you (Missy!). We have so much in common, we can talk about anything. I feel like you are one of those people in my life whom I can turn to for anything at anytime. I get excited for you--am sad when you are---I really enjoy being such close friends with you.

Missy here again. Okay, so she softened the embarrassing info with kind words. Nice move. :)

It's wonderful to have such a good friend who I can call on for prayer, for advice, for encouragement and support. Thank you, Lindi, for being on our blog today!

Now for our readers... What do you consider the most important characteristic of a good friend?

Old Friends are New Part 1

Hi. Missy Tippens here. I had the craziest thing happen a few years ago. But let me back up even further... Nearly 20 years ago, I had a friend named Belinda (Lindi) Peterson in my Sunday school class. And I really liked being around her on Sundays and at class social functions. But then she moved and I moved, and we lost touch.

Now, jump ahead about 7 years. I had been writing romance for a while. And I had joined Romance Writers of America, then Georgia Romance Writers, my local RWA chapter. One Saturday at a meeting, I looked up and saw someone who looked so familiar. And the name Lindi popped into my head. It was her! We were so shocked to see each other. Neither of us knew that the other one was a writer.

And then began a great friendship. Eventually, we ended up in a weekly critique group together. And we began attending conferences and rooming together. We brainstorm and critique together. We talk on the phone a couple of times a week. And even though we live two hours apart now, we try to get together whenever we can. We know we'll usually see each other once a month because we serve together on the board of our local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. And of course we usually email almost daily!

I'll be a substitute poster tomorrow, so I'm going to share a short interview I did with Lindi about friendship. I hope you'll come back. She tells a secret on me! :)

So, now your turn. What do you do if you have friends who don't live near you? How do you keep in touch? How often do you get together? Has distance been hard on your friendship?

Missy

Sacrificial friendship

I love stories of heroic friendship. You know the ones. A soldier throws himself on a grenade to save his comrades. A dog is wounded while facing down an armed assailant to protect his owner. A ten year old shaves his head because his best friend is going through chemo and lost his hair. Downs syndrome children in a race, rushing back to pick up a fallen comrade, and all of them crossing the finish line together. Stories like that really warm my heart and renew my faith in mankind.

Friendship doesn’t always mean sacrifice. But it means being willing to sacrifice if the need arises.

A Bible friendship like that comes to mind-David and Jonathon. They could easily have been enemies. In fact, life would have been easier for both if they had been. But they chose to honor their relationship no matter the cost. And sometimes the cost was significant. The coolest part of the story, to me, actually came many years after Jonathan’s death when David took Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s crippled son into his palace and cared for him all the days of his life, simply because of his love for a man who should have been his enemy.

Now that was a friendship.

There is no friend like....

There is no friend like an old friend
Who has shared our morning days,
No greeting like his welcome,
No homage like his praise.
Fame is a scentless sunflower
With gaudy crown of gold,
But friendship is the breathing rose
With sweets in every fold. --Anonymous

I am a thrift shop-rummange sale aficionado. I found a framed picture made to look like an old cross-stitched sampler with this brief poem. I love these lines of verse because to me they gives the essence of friendship.

As Janet said in her post yesterday, there is a line where an acquaintance becomes a friend. And then ever after--that person is endowed with a special importance in our lives. What they think about us matters more than what countless others think of us. Their praise means the most. Their disappointment can cut us deeper. What hurts them, hurts us. What makes them happy, makes up happy.

And I love the last two lines because they portray how empowering, yet how private and powerful the effect of true friendship is.

Swinging along with my friends

Janet Tronstad here.

I don’t know about you, but I loved to swing high as a girl. I grew up on a farm in rural Montana with few neighbors and one of the exciting things about finally being able to go to school was having the swings. The other great discovery was friends.

Now, in my young age, I had a brother and a sister so I knew about siblings. And I had some delightful cousins. But, until school, I was not in regular contact with other non-related young girls to make any friends.

So it was only fitting that I was sitting on a swing next to Nancy Baker when I had one of those moments that I’ll remember all my life – I was quite awestruck to realize I had a friend. Not just someone to play with (although we did that). Or talk to. But someone who had crossed some line and became a friend. I don’t know what I thought a friend was in my young mind, but I do know it was something like ‘this is a person you can count on.’ Nancy and I stayed friends all through school (first grade to our senior year in high school) and she truly was someone I could always count on.

In the years since then, I have been blessed with an abundance of friends but I will always cherish those young years of friendship. I’m wondering if you’d like to share something you remember about your first friends? Do you remember what you thought friends were back in the early years?

FEATURED TODAY: A LOVE INSPIRED CLASSIC BY LOIS RICHER

Stories of blossoming love and belonging from Lois Richer.

Mother's Day Miracle

When a handsome single dad and his four children move next door, is it God's answer to Clarissa Cartwright's prayers for a family? Proud, stubborn Wade Featherhawk is determined to manage…alone. Unless Clarissa's faith can open his eyes and his heart.

Blessed Baby

The moment she held her precious little niece, Briony Green stopped trying to convince herself she wasn't mommy material. But can this cool, rational scientist help Ty Demens, the toddler's widowed and hurting dad, trust in God's mysterious but loving ways?

Reality of Love - Carol Steward

This is my first year of 17 seasons to watch "The Bachelor." Since I'm a romance author, many people thought I'd be drawn to the show long before now. Oddly enough, I've always thought it sounded like a hokey idea – falling in love in 6 weeks. Granted, I have written several such books, where the hero and heroine meet and fall madly in love in a matter of weeks.

I know a lot of people who have met and married their spouse in a matter of weeks, and have been happily married for years. Don't get me wrong, I believe very much that God can bring two people together with such assurance of happily ever after.

This is television, I keep reminding myself. Still, I have a very difficult time watching the bachelor making out with one bachelorette after another, and trying to equate this with finding true love. This last week he sent the next hopeful woman away when the bachelorette said she wanted to marry her best friend. His reason was he wanted to be more than best friends, which got me thinking – a very dangerous situation!

Do you marry your best friend? Or do you fall in love first and THEN become best friends? Initially, I agreed with Jillian (the last bachelorette to be turned away) when she said that when they're 90, she'll want to be with her best friend. I'll admit, after nearly thirty-one years of marriage, it seems like my honey and I have been best friends forever. And that is just the way I want it. But was it friendship that brought us together, or "more"? And what exactly is "more" than best friends?

And who better to ask than my best friend, my husband. We're watching the show together, so he knew, even predicted who the bachelor would send packing. And he even agrees with Jason, the bachelor, on wanting "more" than being best friends for a happy marriage. His definition of "more" is the spark that will send one into a burning building to save the other. That warm feeling when your love walks into the room and smiles at you – even after thirty years of marriage.

So after a long discussion, I agree that yes, there was a lot more of "more" than best friends in my husband's and my courting days. And I will change my opinion to include both "best friends" and "more than best friends" when looking for one's perfect mate. I hope that he and his bachelorette will remember to keep each other as best friends as well, because they'll need a lot more than a spark to keep that love alive and growing through the good times and bad. And so far, on "reality T.V.", there hasn't been much focus on becoming "best friends." But whether a couple meets online, on a reality show, or in their daily walk of life, I think the most important thing is to remember to keep the love growing, through all types of love.

All-in-all, it's entertainment. I think the statistics of the show say it all, only 1 couple out of 17 seasons has found what it takes to turn reality T.V. into real love. I am a true fan of love and romance and lasting marriages, in romance novels, in television, and most of all, in real life.

God Bless,

Carol

Quiet Love

I grew up with a family of huggers. Not tree huggers. People huggers. We hugged each other every day at least once. My parents always gave goodbye hugs when we left for school and goodnight hugs before sleep.

After we'd mow our dad's knees over with hugs when he'd come in from work, we'd plop down in the floor and help him tug his cowboy boots off. Fond memories. My family showed love by affection. Especially my mother who is the most loving person I know.

Enter dashing Rocker Dude twenty-something years later...

I fell flat on my heart in love with his contagious grin, kind brown eyes and hilarious sense of humor. He remodeled a 1200 square foot home and built onto it by the sweat of his brow until it became 4000 square feet...plenty of room for all the babies that came later. The teething rings did come after the wedding rings, but once we got married however, I began to doubt my husband's love. He never showed affection. Never hugged. Never held my hand. Of course he didn't really do that sort of thing before we got married either. But he served me. Sometimes without me knowing it. Him and a friend sneaked to another of my friend's house and, in the middle of the night, built a wheelchair ramp for her disabled son. We only found out about it because neighbors described his work truck and he fessed up.

I'd work midnights at the hospital and come out to find every nurse's vehicle in the parking lot COVERED with ice and snow...and my windshield scraped clear with one red rose and a hilarious greeting card from Rocker Dude stuck in the windshield wiper. My nurse friends scraped their windshields in frenzy while eyeing my car in envy and spouting, "You'd better hang on to that guy. You'd better not let that one get away. Any guy who gets up and four a.m. to scrape your windshield deserves a chance. You should give him one."

I'm SO glad I did.

I had a friend (Pammer James) and her family visit. After observing my husband and I interact for a couple days, Pammer said, "He loves you quietly, doesn't he?"

That hit me like a two-by-four. This man might have a hard time with hugs. But he knows what it means to serve. He wasn't raised with huggers. It dawned on me that we love how we are taught. His family serves one another and does tasks and projects to show their affection. That's how he grew up knowing love from his parents and how his parents displayed love for one another. Home-improvement projects. Landscaping. Etc. So that's how he learned to love.

My rocker dude might not hug, but I have a gorgeous window-fronted twenty-by-thirty foot sunroom that houses a library for my book addiction and a gym for all the equipment I don't use near enough and a beautiful desk for writing--a dream he supports and champions--that is an obvious testament to his love. A breathtaking corner gas log that he and his dad installed. A comfy sectional for family time that houses side-by side recliners where we spend time in each other's company and which is my favorite spot to write.

Hubby says he built this sunroom for me to have a place to come retreat to and write in peace. I actually think he subconsciously built it as a PMS Shelter for Men and plans to check himself into it when all our daughters turn teenagers at once. HA! But for now, I'll enjoy the view out of my gorgeous sunroom which lends a view of the deck he built, the fence he fashioned, and the massive swingset playhouse fort he and my dad and his dad constructed for our children. True love. His music may be loud but his love is quiet. I don't so much miss the hugs anymore. Besides, after eleven years together, he's finally starting to lift his hands and do this sort of bend-arms-at-the-elbow and pat-pat-pat my back. Not quite a hug...but we're getting there. :-)

In the meantime, I'll relish his servant's heart and his loud music and his quiet love and try my best to learn the best ways to love him back.

And now...time NOT to be quiet. I would LOVE to hear how you love best to be loved. Don't be shy! Chat away.

Cheryl Wyatt

Love is in the air...

Love is in the air...

That's the song my heroine whistled while wiping down counters in her shop in my novel. The story is set right before Valentine's Day, when love truly is in the very air.

What is it about February that makes us so love-struck? Valentine's Day is fun to celebrate, of course, but why can't we make an effort to show our spouses, family or friends love every month of the year? Or, gasp - every day of the year?

Did it just get quiet in here? =)

I'm guilty of it too. I love going alllllllll out for holidays - planning big birthday surprises, or romantic Valentine's Day dates, and trying to outdo myself at Christmas each year - but I must confess, I don't always do a great job of being lovey dovey year-round. My husband deserves that, as I'm sure yours does too.

So for the remaining days of February, why not make an extra effort to show your spouse you love them? Why not slip a love note in their briefcase, or bake their favorite dessert for dinner just because, instead of only for a holiday or occasion? Rent their favorite movie, even if you hate action flicks, or take over your hubby's chore for a week as a surprise. If you have a Polaroid camera, snap a shot of your smiling face and hide it in their jeans or suit pocket. Or, gasp - buy a fun new nightgown in his favorite color.

Now its really quiet in here!

All kidding aside, let's make an effort this month AND next month to show love. Let's keep it in the air!

"Hmmm hmm hmmm hmm hmmmmmm....."

Showing Love

Since our theme this month is love in all its many aspects, I want to share a book with you that changed my life several years ago.


The Five Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman


http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/





Knowing my love language and my husband's love language has helped my marriage tremendously. Also, knowing the love languages of my children has helped me be a better parent.


On the link I've provided, you can take a 30 sec quick assessment test and learn more information about your love language and the love language of those you love.

Love is a Four-Letter Word spelled M I K E

The Love of a Child by Stacey Chillemi

The greatest love of all is be able to have a child’s love
To love your child and to have your child love you back
Waking each morning with your child’s eyes on you.
A child’s love keeps you believing in brighter days
Believing that dreams do come true
Giving you hope for a brighter future
Bringing happiness to your heart
Bringing rainbows to every gray sky

Having the love and comfort of a child is the greatest gift in life
A child’s love is forever lasting
No matter how far you travel
No matter how many miles away,
You will always have your child’s love in your heart
It will never go away
You can always feel your child’s presence in your heart
Your child’s home is in your heart
Their love is always here to comfort you.



Since this month our Craftie Theme is love, I went looking for this poem. I'd heard it many years ago but couldn't remember anything but the phrase Love of a Child. This past Saturday my son turned four. We had a family birthday party. I grew up an only child, and my son is now growing up an only child. I so want him to have family around him, so for me, this Saturday was a perfect day.


This is my four-year-old attempting to help his bear get potty trained.

Hero Interview from Bluegrass Courtship

Interview with the hero Drew Downing from Allie Pleiter’s Bluegrass Courtship:

1. Drew Downing, tell me the most interesting thing about you.
Probably that I’m not as interesting as everyone thinks. Sure, as host of Missionnovation, I’ve probably got one of the coolest jobs on television. But I’m just an ordinary guy who likes to build things--I just get to do it in front of the cameras. I carry a pocket watch of my Dad’s even though I wear a wristwatch. I love chocolate chip cookies and caffeine has long lost its effect on me. Is any of that interesting, or just weird?

2. What do you do for fun?
My job is the most fun I have, so I suppose I work for fun. Which is why it never feels like work. Okay, maybe at three in the morning before our target project is supposed to be completed and the power goes out in the driving rain, then it doesn’t feel much like fun. That’s usually when I start singing. Makes everybody laugh. I’d much rather they were awestruck…

3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?
I can’t remember the last time I had a physical. A couple of emergency room visits…you never want to get in an argument with an electric staple gun…but I’m too afraid some doc will tell me to stop pulling all nighters or to slow down and eat better. When your sponsor is Delicious Dave’s Chocolate Chip Cookies, you better not be counting calories.

4. What are you afraid of most in life?
If I slow down, I’ll find out I like slowing down. That’d be disastrous for a whole bunch of people.

5. What do you want out of life?
Every single bit of it.

6. What is the most important thing to you?
That people know I’m the real deal. Missionnovation is out to help churches by renovating them to reach their full potential. So that the strength of the building matches the strength of the congregation inside. There’s no gimmick or hitch. We don’t cut corners and we do quality work. It just so happens we do it with the cameras on.

7. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?
My favorite books are the instruction manuals for this year’s coolest new power tools. I don’t have time for much else. Oh, and a Bible. That’s the best instruction manual of all, if you ask me.

8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d give myself six fingers on each hand so I could play wicked guitar and hold more stuff while I nail. On second thought, that might be a bit creepy. I suppose I wish I could care less about the folks who are sure I’m not what I seem to be. I’m always trying to convince them I’m the real deal, and that’s gotten me a bit off track from time to time.

9. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?
We had a moth on the show bus for a week once. I named it Homer until it ate through one of my favorite sweaters. I’m thinking maybe that doesn’t really count. If I didn’t travel so much, I’d be a big yellow lab kind of guy.

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?
I’d build stuff with Jesus. He was a carpenter, so we’d totally get along. Plus, I’m guessing I’d learn a lot more about a lot more than just how to fit wood together.

FEATURED TODAY: BLUEGRASS COURTSHIP BY ALLIE PLEITER

The celebrity host of TV's Missionnovation, Drew Downing is comfortable with his fame. He's become accustomed to the cheering, star-struck townfolk that usually welcome him as he renovates churches countrywide. Usually. Then he and his crew set up in tiny Middleburg, Kentucky, to rebuild the church's storm-damaged preschool. The very lovely, very no-nonsense hardware store owner Janet Bishop is suspicious of Drew's true motives. It looks like Janet Bishop's faith—in God, in herself and in love—needs some serious rebuilding. And Drew Downing is just the man for the job.

Perseverance

As we've gone through the verses in 1 Corinthians 13, I am reminded each day of another facet of love. Love always perseveres. I like to think of persevering as staying the course. No matter what happens, love doesn't give up. This means if someone disappoints us, we love them anyway. That's the way God is. We can read about God's love in Psalm 103:8. "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love."

We should have perseverance in our earthly relationships. We have to work through the good times and the bad times when we love someone just as God does with us when he forgives us. Here are two verses from James that tell us a lot about perseverance.

James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."

James 5:11 says, "As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."

As I wrote this I was thinking mostly of our relationships with God and with the people we love, but I also want to give a little side note about perseverance. When I was assigned this topic, I thought about my writing career. I just want to say to anyone who has a dream that perseverance pays dividends. My dream was to be published. I wrote and sent in manuscripts for twenty years before I finally sold. I believe that God was teaching me perseverance and also teaching me to give my writing over to Him so that He could use it to glorify Him. I thank the Lord that I didn't give up that dream.

I want to close with two more verses from the Bible. They tell us about perseverance better than I ever could.

Hebrews 12:2-3 says, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Love hopes all things.

Love hopes all things.

You know that’s right.

Think of the things that we hope will come true for those we love. We hope our children are healthy and smart. We hope they grow up to kind and brave. We hope our spouse gets the job he wants. We hope our parents have blessed golden years. We hope our friends can repair their troubled marriage. We eternally hope for the best even in the worst of times, because that is what love gives us. It gives us hope.

Love and hope can not be separated from each other. Not when they are bound together by faith.

Here is hoping you all have a blessed day.
Pat

Love Always Trusts

I love those verses from Corinthians about love and how appropriate during the month we celebrate love. And one key ingredient in a love relationship is trust. Without it a marriage, a friendship or any kind of relationship will not thrive and often it will not survive. Trust starts with trusting in the Lord. If we can put our trust in Him, after that everything is gravy.

As a writer I've used the trust theme a lot in a story because it is such a big issue in a relationship. Some people give trust easily, others sparingly. Some people will forgive and trust the other again, some won't. Once a person breaks a trust, that's it. Trust is simple but also at the same time complex (like love is). The Webster dictionary says it is having confidence in a person's honesty and integrity. Wow! When you trust someone, that means a lot. So destroying that trust is a big thing. Notice how close trust and truth are--their first three letters are even the same.

So like the cat that trusted it's owner not to harm him ( and having three cats, being put in water feels like being harmed to them), you have my trust until you do something to lose it. But then there is always forgiveness and that is a whole another aspect of love for another day.

How hard is it to trust for you? How do you deal with it when someone breaks your trust?

Love ... always protects

When I found out my topic was "protection" I thought about how one of my
husband's friends always teases me about my pointy toed shoes. He says I
could easily protect myself if I use those shoes to kick a person. He calls
them my "roach-stomping" shoes. I do have a lot of pointy toed shoes but protection
is about more than just kicking bad people. In this beautiful passage from First
Corinthians, love is the protection that God offers us. And it is part of what
we offer when we extend our love to another person. When we have love in our lives, it acts as a shield against hurt and misery. Love lifts us up when we are broken, it
takes over when we are in shock. Love protects us from the every day stresses of
life. Love is truly our soft place to fall. Can you image living each day in a
loveless life? How could we possibly handle everthing that is just outside our
doors if we didn't have the protection of God's steady and everlasting love?

God's grace flows over us like a shield. And that shield goes to battle with us
during the worst of times. It is also there during the best of times. It guides us, keeps us standing, deflects all sorts of pain and harm and keeps us warm when we
are alone and scared in the middle of the night.

The protectin of God's love is like the light that is always burning, that beacon
that always shows us the way home. God promises protection. He promises to go into
battle with us. His unconditional love will cover us and we can hold fast to that
protections. Love ... always protects because love gives us the courage to protect
ourselves, love gives us the knowledge to stand firm in our beliefs and love gives us the power to overcome fear and rage and pain and despair. Love can protect us
if we open our hearts and allow love to come inside. Wearing pointy toes shoes is
one way I can protect myself. But in the end, it doesn't matter if my shoes can do
damage to any attacker and it doesn't matter what kind of shoes I'm wearing. It only
matters that I know God's love is surrounding me when I head out the door

Love Rejoiceth in the Truth

Love and truth--To me the two words go hand in hand. When you love someone and are loved isn't it a wonderful feeling to know that you have a safe place in that person...a place where you can go with your heart and trust it to that loved one.

I also know that when you love someone--husband, children, family, friends you believe the best of them, want the best for them and hope for the best from them. I used to own a hair salon...and I hated gossip. Hair salons and hair stylist have the reputation of being the first to know everything. Thankfully we worked really hard to be the salon where we were the last to know and many times didn't know anything at all. The best compliment anyone could ever give me was when they'd tell me that they came to my shop because (yes we were good stylist :0 ) but that they'd noticed we were different. There was a feeling of pleasant friendliness and caring and not the ugly feeling of hearing a bunch of women talking about people. I loved that. Clients noticed we were different. Where I'm going with this is that for me, the reason I hated gossip so much was the distructiveness of it but also I am a person who believes the best in people--and when I meet them I don't want my view of them tarnished by something ugly I've heard about them. I believe as a Christian, as a mother, as a wife, as a friend believing the best in people helps bring out the best in those we love. Yes, people are going to fail and falter but love will always help boost that person back to the truth and being the best that they can be. For me that is important. It works both ways--my family loves me enough to love me when I mess up and I love them enough to love them when they mess up--Love rejoiceth in truth and it is the foundation for all relationships to flourish and last.

Heroine Interview from A Cowboy's Heart

Interview with the heroine from A Cowboy's Heart by Brenda Minton:

1. Willow Michaels, tell me the most interesting thing about you. I don’t think it is the most interesting, but obviously what people notice, is that I’m severely hearing impaired. I contracted meningitis as a child and have since suffered progressive hearing loss. I, personally, think the most interesting thing about me is that I raise bucking bulls in a sport dominated by men. And I do it quite well, I think.

2. What do you do for fun? Taking my bulls to large events is fun for me. My aunt Janie goes with me. We have friends who participate, so it is a chance to catch up with them, or renew old acquaintances. Old acquaintances like Clint Cameron. I never expected my aunt to run into him at a smaller bull riding event. I really didn’t expect him to be better looking at 31 than he was at sixteen. My mistake.


3. What do you put off doing because you dread it? Going to the doctor. Doesn’t everyone. The art of avoidance. I’m a pro. But there are some things that you can’t avoid. Silence is one of them.

4. What are you afraid of most in life? Life in a world of complete silence. Sometimes I take off my hearing aids, to condition myself to that world, because I know that is what I’m facing in the future. I’m so glad that I have faith, and that I’m not alone in the silence. God is always with me.


5. What do you want out of life? To be strong. To be strong in my career. To be strong in my personal life. To be strong in my faith.

6. What is the most important thing to you? My faith. My family. My friends. I know that seems like a ‘right answer,’ but it is true. I know what it is like to be alone, to face situations without someone close to you, and to face them without God. And now I know what it is like to have faith, to have people.


7. Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read? Westerns with a touch of romance. I love cowboys, but don’t tell that to the cowboy living down the street from me. I love strong men, and strong women. I love reading stories with characters who conquer their fears and their problems. Yes, for me it is always a good western that hooks my attention. And magazines. I read Quarter Horse Monthly and The Bull Riding World.

8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Who wouldn’t change something if they could? I would change my hearing prognosis, my other physical problems, things that happened in my past, and my insecurity. But if I fixed those things, I would have nothing to work through, no mountains to climb, nothing to make me strong.


9. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet? A dog. She works cattle and she’s very sweet. I also have a bull named Dolly. I have quite a few bulls, but he’s special. I started my program with him and he’s a little bit of a pet. Don’t tell the bull riders who get thrown from him on a regular basis.

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why? I think you know the answer to that if you saw what I like to read. I’d go to the old west and watch cowboys at the beginning, when rodeo was a way to spend a little time off. Bull riding started on those ranches, in dusty corrals, a challenge between cowboys. It’s still that sport, a challenge between cowboys. They don’t really compete against one another, they compete against the animal. And all too often, the bull wins.

FEATURED THIS WEEK: A COWBOY'S HEART BY BRENDA MINTON

Willow Michaels is through letting other people run her life. She's ready to stand on her own. Be independent. Run a business. Raise bucking bulls! And no matter what former rodeo star Clint Cameron thinks, Willow knows she's up for the job.

Clint is used to taking care of everyone. His family, friends and especially his twin four-year-old nephews depend on him. Yet his stubborn, beautiful neighbor keeps pushing him away. Willow's scared to trust another man, but now that Clint has given her his heart, he's not about to let her walk away.

Friday the 13th!

If I were superstitious, which I am definitely not, I would be worried about posting on a supposedly unlucky day. (by the way, the startled baby is my niece)

The topic I ended up with is "take no delight in evil" and I wondered how I was going to relate that to my work for Love Inspired. Then, I realized that the theme of forgiveness that I often use ties right in.

Think about it for a moment. More times than I care to recall, I have seen someone get his or her comeuppance and have been glad. That's not only not being forgiving, it's taking delight in evil, in a roundabout way. When we rejoice at retribution, I think that's the same thing. And I do it often. Which brings me to the subject of forgiveness again.

As you all know, we choose a verse or two of scripture to begin our books. Believe it or not, that can not only be difficult, it can change as we write. At least mine does. The way I begin, my way, is often not the way the story carries us and I firmly believe that that is God's guidance, not only in the creation of the book but in the perfecting of us as a Christian.

Okay, now you know. I've said it. I'm not a perfect Christian. I know that's a shock to y'all but hey, it's the truth. And form now on, thanks to having to write this post, I'll be more aware of what it means to take delight in evil. Forgiveness is still my personal theme and as far as I can see, it will be for some time to come.

To leave you on an uplifting note, I'll add another picture, this time of my grandson. Maybe it's a good thing I write suspense and mystery into so many of my books because it looks as if the members of my family are ready for it!

Blessings,

Val

Uh, oh...Love Keeps No Record of Wrongs?

1 Corinthians 13:4-7: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs...

Missy here. Talking about that last part, love keeps no record of wrongs...

Okay, I’ll admit I forgot to mail a check to a friend recently. I also forgot to make my son a haircut appointment (poor thing looked like he had a growth out the back of his head!). And I forgot to buy ice cream at the grocery. I forgot…I forgot…I forgot…

I forget a lot of things. But I bet I can tell you every single time my husband irritated me last week! :) And I can tell you exactly which days my youngest two kids fought on the way home from school. (Not hard to do. It was EVERY SINGLE DAY last week!) I can tell you the biggest mistakes my parents made while I was growing up. I can even tell you friends who have hurt my feelings over the last 20+ years.

Love keeps no record of wrongs. Oh, my.

I guess I’m in big trouble.

So I’m asking for help from you (and from God). How can I let these little things go and truly love my husband? I mean, come on, how bad is it, truly, that he’s so fastidiously organized while my piles are exploding everywhere? Shouldn’t I be thankful?? :) And so what if he moves my piles out of his way on occasion? (No, he doesn’t understand that I know where everything is in those piles!) And so what if he hogs the covers? And hogs the remote control?

Maybe I can focus more on the sweet things he does, like helping with the laundry, taking the dogs out each morning, emptying the dishwasher, taking care of the kids while I’m at conferences, offering to make me a sandwich when I’m writing toward a deadline (and missing meals)…

Love keeps no record of wrongs.

Okay, how do you do this with the man you love? How do you do this with your parents or your children? How do you love them with a First Corinthians 13 kind of love?

P.S. Don't forget Valentine's Day is Saturday!!

Love is not easily angered (provoked): 1 Cor. 13:5

Anger bothers me. Maybe it ever frightens me a little because one thing I noticed about anger is that the angry person sometimes(often) gets out of control and does something he or she regrets, sometimes forever.

Take road rage for instance. A scary, scary situation. One driver cuts another off in traffic and road rage explodes in a stream of curses, manic driving and sometimes even murder. The angry person probably would never have done anything so heinous had he been in control of himself.

So many people today have a ‘chip on their shoulder’. Nobody is going to ‘dis’ them and get away with it. They go around looking for a reason to be upset. Instead of letting their love show, they let their selfishness show. (Because I think, in the end, anger is a form of selfishness.) Churches split because someone was provoked by some petty thing—(usually an argument over how money is spent—again, so selfish.)

Have you ever been in the grocery store and heard a mother cursing and yelling at her children? Sadly, I’ve heard it a lot! It breaks my heart. Anger is like a seed. It reproduces its own kind. Angry parents raise angry children. Maybe that’s why the Word tells us never to provoke our children to anger!

Someone once said, ‘Either control your anger or it will control you.” I’ve heard people say they ‘inherited’ their temper and can’t help it. Do you think that’s true? Do you think people can overcome tendencies they’ve gotten from their families? Do you know someone who’s overcome a bad temper?

Love is Not Self-Seeking

I was presented with the phrase: "Love is not self-seeking" for my blog entry today.

Self-seeking is not a word most of us use frequently. I consulted Webster's and this is what was there:
"Self-seeking

Self"-seek`ing\, n. The act or habit of seeking one's own interest or happiness; selfishness.

Related Words for : self-seeking adjective
expedience, opportunism, self-interest, self-serving

1. interested only in yourself [syn: self-serving]
noun
1. taking advantage of opportunities without regard for the consequences for others [syn: opportunism] " *

I like the pharse "interested only in yourself." Whoa! If that's not the complete OPPOSITE of love, I don't know what is.

I met my husband at a church single's New Year's Eve Party. It was not love at first sight but at second sight. He had come with a friend to the party and then about 3 weeks later accompanied the same friend to a special program at my church.

That was the night I noticed him. In fact, it was as if he was being backlit with movie lights. Wherever I looked, light shown around him.

No, I wasn't experiencing problems with my optic nerve. I think this was just one of those unexplainable manifestations of attraction. All of us who have fallen in love have experienced the fact that when attraction begins, it makes us super-sensitive with our senses to the other person.

Well, that night was in January and we married October 5 of that year. And one of the things that made our dating, courtship and marriage last for years is that my dh is never "self-seeking." He just doesn't have a selfish bone in his body. This fact has continued to delight me over our years together. He just wants me to be happy. If I'm happy, so is he.

This alone makes him easy to love. He never demands anything. He never says, "Woman, you must be submissive. I'm the boss. I get my way."

Once a young woman was worried that her fiance was very concerned about whether or not she would submit to him when they were married. My advice to her was to "run, not walk to the nearest exit." If a man is already brow-beating his future bride with his desire for control (read that as seek for himself, that is a man who does not know what love is.

Many of us are mothers. I often thought when my children were small, that I would rather have suffered the ear infection, the cold, or the flu than have to watch them suffer. That I think is the essence of love.

And I'm grateful that I'm married to a man who didn't have to learn that. It was just there in him as a child of God. True love is not self-seeking.


*Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

Love Is Not Rude

Love is not rude. When I thought of people being rude, I had a flashback to an old ‘I Love Raymond’ episode where Raymond’s father is determined to gain serenity. He keeps chanting ‘Serenity Now, Serenity Now.’ Of course, so many irritating things happen that he ends up being rude to his wife. Meanwhile, he looks like this man on the face of the Arc De Triomphe, facing the Champs Elysees, in Paris.

(Don’t you just love the sculpture by the way? I can feel the man’s frustration and was happy to find a place to post the photo).

Some day’s are like that – our rudeness just comes out of us. It’s not that we start the day deciding to be rude to anyone we meet. But we had a dozen things happen and we’re late for something and – before we know it we’ve looked at a store clerk and snapped at them. It’s not something we planned, but it’s there all the same.

I wish I was better at handling the annoyances in my life. How about you? Sometimes I am able to put on the mind of Christ and be patient with people – sometimes I don’t make it. Prayer helps. Meditation helps. But, the reality is, there are lots of minor annoyances in each of our lives and, all too often, the end result is rudeness, sometimes to strangers and sometimes to those close to us.

Give me your thoughts on rudeness (I should mention it is not only annoyances that bring forth rudeness, we are often responding to bad treatment from others, too).