Talking with a friend led me to Concordia’s Complete Bible Handbook for students. When I went looking for it I also found Concordia’s Complete Bible Handbook
Searching with the ‘see inside’ feature I knew it was what I was looking for. I’ve ordered it and wanted to share this find with you. Yes, that’s an affiliate link. 🙂
I’ve been searching for the right book to help me learn more about the bible. I think I’ve found it. Searching inside I found beautiful graphics, charts, word meanings and more. One reviewer says there are maps as well! In the last two years of bible study at church I’ve found having maps help me understand what is written in the bible. How far someone had to travel what kind of terrain and where the nearest water is located helps with an extra layer of information.
Do you have other suggestions for me to look at? Please share!
I’ve been waiting for this gluten-free bread book to be released for quite some time. It is the ULTIMATE resource for those of us with gluten issues.
I read this book cover to cover before embarking on my first post.
I learned a few things–did you know chlorine in tap water kills yeast? Me either!
In her book, Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread, Nichol Hunn has offers many tips and tells what products and tools you’ll need to make bread that will remind you of what you used to eat. *affiliate link
I started with the first bread recipe in the book, Lean Crusty White Sandwich Bread. I can’t give you the recipe, but I do encourage you to get the book if you need to eat gluten-free. It would also make a great present.
This is my finished loaf. It is crusty and has small air pockets –just like that ‘other’ bread that I can’t eat.
I think this cookbook should be called The Ultimate Gluten-Free Bread Book…next up on what to bake? Crescent Rolls!
So what to you think? Does it look good enough to eat?
I’m not sure what to get my husband for Christmas. Every year it’s the , “Really what do you want this year?” conversation. Then he asks me the same question. I think he should tell me what he wants but know what I want. I could give him a list but I need more time to think.
Back to Mr. Quiet, he likes to cut things up and recently found he likes to read on my iPad so…
I’m considering these.
*affilate links
or this?
The question is now that it’s on my blog will he comment? Yes or no? What do you say Mr. Quiet want to go cut some things up? Or read a book?
Please don’t forget to vote for We’re Not Blended We’re Pureed over at www.bookfun.org.
Thanks,
Diana
Diana: Hi Mackenzie, thanks for stopping by today. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Mackenzie: I don’t remember a conscious decision. I think that’s just the way the Lord made me. I’ve always loved writing and making stories up in my head for as long as I can remember. Every once in a while, I’ll find a page of an ancient second or third grade short story and chuckle as I read it and try to decipher the context.
Diana:What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
Mackenzie: Right now, I’m self-employed, so I can just flip-flop my schedule around to what works best.
Diana: What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Mackenzie: Like I have any writing quirks…. 😉 Probably my most interesting one is the fact that my characters refuse to ever conform to my outline. Sure, I start out with a neat and detailed plan, but by mid-story, sometimes before, my characters are all running every which-a-way in their own directions. Sometimes the “good guys” turn into bad guys. Sometimes scenes from the end move up to the middle. Sometimes the wrong people fall in love, and even other times a deep, dark secret that I didn’t even know about will just pop up from somebody’s past. Surprises… that’s what makes writing so fun!
Diana:What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Mackenzie: I love life! One of my favorite things to do is to run outside, especially on a dew-glistening, bird-singing, apple-blossomed, spring morning… just to run toward a painted sunrise and feel absorbed in the beauty of God’s creation! I love riding my horse down the gravel road or through the cornfields. I love chilly fall days… a cool breeze floating in a slightly open window and feeling the warm apple-scented steam as you slide a crusty, golden, apple pie out of the oven just as a drip of cinnamon syrup bubbles out and sizzles. I like a crisp, breezy walk through a pumpkin patch or a swim in a Wisconsin lake. I like camping in the North Woods or browsing souvenir shops. I’ve enjoyed climbing cliffs in the Blue Ridge and drivin’ by buffalo in Yellowstone.
I love findin’ deals at garage sales and hangin’ out with my family… cookout style or pizza and popcorn movie nights. My favorite time is Christmas… It’s A Wonderful Life in the DVD player, a fire crackling in the corner, the pop of popcorn, and the sweet aroma of hot chocolate as we hang ornaments and wrap lights around our Christmas tree and nativity scene. I love seeing the Lord work in my life and teach me new things. I love Him because He first loved me. He’s shown me His love sooo many times in my life! One of my favorite verses is “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” He’s the giver of life, the one who makes daffodils smile and the thunderclouds clap. I love life, love, loyalty, and laughter.
Diana: What does your family think of your writing?
Mackenzie: They are all very supportive and encouraging! I loved giving them my new book and hearing what they thought of it. I really appreciated their suggestions before I was satisfied with my final copy.
Diana: Do you have any suggestions to help readers interested in writing become better? If so, what are they?
Mackenzie: Always pray about your writing. You couldn’t get a better teacher.
Just keep writing. Progress can be amazing if you just keep practicing until you get the hang of it. Make it fun, and keep it fun. If you get bored with it or lose track of where you’re going, you’ll likely stop.
Start with an outline for structure, but then add some surprises to keep yourself guessing.
Diana: What do you think makes a good story?
Mackenzie: Action, a good plot, likeable and admirable characters, emotion, human interaction, purity of relationships, cleanness in language, mystery… but most of all, it needs to honor God. I loved writing this book, but it would always feel empty and useless to me if there wasn’t a higher purpose in writing it than making money. If you pray about it and are truly writing for Him, I believe He will cause everything else to fall into place.
Diana: For viewers who have not read, but are interested in your book, can you describe it please?
Mackenzie: Fire Storm is about a couple of young families living excessively normal lives in a small-town, farming community in Northern Illinois. Wade is a paramedic. His wife, Mellissa, works in a lawyer’s office, and they are expecting a baby very soon. Their best friends, Jim and Jessica, live on a small horse farm out in the country. Jim is a fireman. Jess is a stay-at-home mom with her recently born little girl. Life is fun and carefree till… Jess starts running into threats at every turn. Are they even threats or just accidents? The thought of a killer being after Jess just seems so ridiculous… though not so much… when she comes eye to eye with murder! Who and Why? What about Wade ‘n Mellissa? Will they remain safe in their young existence as they embark in the beginnings of life’s journey, or will the epidemic of murder spread? How far does it reach? What are the secrets?
Diana: How does God affect your writing?
Mackenzie: He gave me the talent to write. He gave me an imagination and a love for stories. He put me in a strongly Christian home where I received wisdom about spiritual things and knowledge of true love, sacrifice, and care. He saved me and gave me a reason to write. Fire Storm was written for Him and dedicated to Him, and by His grace, I pray that every book I write will always point heavenward and never downward toward worldly lusts.
Diana: Who is your favorite character in your book?
Mackenzie: That’s hard to say. I like all my characters. They are all different and unique. I like variety. The world needs rich and poor, plain and fancy, strong and weak, dream-chasers and content daily laborers, business women and stay-at-home moms, flippant and flighty and rigid work-a-holics. If there was one “right” type of person or one perfect race, the world would be sooo dull. Everyone fiction or real has their very own story.
Diana: What was the hardest part to write in the book?
Mackenzie: The Salvation message. It carries the greatest responsibility.
Thanks Mackenzie for sharing with us your author journey. You can click the link below to get Mackenzie Dare’s book.
It is an affiliate link. I think I’m supposed to tell you that.
After I wrote the title for this post-Wood Bowls from Trees I realized how silly that sounds. I will defend my choice of title!
The bowls I’m talking about are made from ONE piece of a tree. Yes! One piece, not glued together in section but one solid piece.
My friend Scott makes these amazing pieces from trees. He made one for me from a tree that fell during a storm a few years ago. It was a huge mess at my house and I can’t find the photos. One of the trees landed on my son’s car and totaled it.
Scott and his wife Barbara helped remove the trees. Later he gave me this bowl to remember the storm.
I can’t remember what kind of tree this is made from, I think it was an ash tree. I use this bowl often for Clementines, apples and even Christmas bows.
It’s hard to imagine a bowl this pretty came from something like these logs.
Aren’t they amazing? The one on the bottom is really a box.
If you’re looking for a special gift for some one check out Scott’s site.
Don’t forget to enter the goodreads contest! Look on the right sidebar!
AND…We’re Not Blended We’re Pureed A Survivors Guide to Blended Families has been nominated for Book of the Year on www.bookfun.org I’d love your vote.
Still in the recovery mode at my house so what’s a person to do when their foot looks like this?
I spend a lot of time on the couch with my foot elevated while searching for things that make me laugh or inspire me to change things.
I stumbled onto this amazing youtube clip of PIXAR’s studios. I think my office might be to dull, lacking in fun and well–to pretty. I’d love, love, love to sit in the big chair.
What about you? After watching this are you thinking of adding some fun to your writing studio or home office?
This is a blog hop, so hop on over and read some more fun authors.
Today I have a guest host, Ava Pennington. She has graciously volunteered to help me this week because I’m having foot surgery.
Package Deal
by Ava Pennington
How intimate is your relationship with God? How intimate do you want it to be?
I’ve always heard that if I wanted to be close to God, I needed to be intentional about spending time with Him in prayer, reading the Bible, obeying His Word, and fellowshipping with His people.
But I’m the master of the to-do list, and even though I checked those items off my list each day, something was still missing. Maybe it’s because these activities can deteriorate into rituals. I can easily go through the motions of religious behavior with a disengaged heart.
Then I began to think about how people move from acquaintances to personal friends. We get to know them by spending time with them and we listen as they reveal intimate details about themselves.
However, when it comes to intimacy with God, we often depend on what other people say about Him. We learn from our parents, from religious traditions, even from our culture. But we can miss who God says He is.
Problem is, I grew up attending Sunday school and I still had trouble understanding what God said about Himself. I misunderstood many of the names and attributes of God which had brought comfort to countless generations.
For example, what does God mean when He calls Himself Jealous? Or what about when God calls Himself a Consuming Fire? Even the more familiar names and attributes can be misunderstood. The Bible says God is love (I John 4:8). But how do we define love? Hearts & flowers? Terms of endearment?
One characteristic of intimacy is trust. It’s difficult to trust a stranger. But the more we learn about who God is and how He works, the easier it is for us to trust Him.
The foundation of that trust is a complete picture of God. All the names and attributes of God combine to reveal His nature and His glory. We misunderstand who God is when we focus on one name or attribute of God to the exclusion of all others.
Let’s face it. We are naturally drawn to certain names and attributes of God over others. Savior? Merciful? Faithful? That’s how I enjoy thinking of God. Jealous? Consuming Fire? Judge? Not so much.
But those who focus only on God’s characteristic of love often end up with an anything-goes god who tolerates sin. Others who focus on God’s holiness to the exclusion of all other characteristics create a fire-and-brimstone god who is unloving, unmerciful, and uncompassionate.
God is love and He is holy. He is merciful and He is just. He is all these things and more. To intimately know Him we must be intentional about learning all that He is – not just one or two characteristics that appeal to who we want Him to be.
That’s why I wrote Daily Reflections on the Names of God. It’s a one-year devotional that explores 122 names and attributes of God three ways: who God is, who we are in light of who He is, and how this changes our relationships with others.
Ask God to show you who He is. Mine treasures from His Word as He reveals His nature and His ways through His names and attributes. The result will be intentional intimacy Him.
Dig into His Word, spend time with Him in prayer, and learn what He has said about Himself.
Wherever you are, whatever you are facing in your complicated life today, God – in ALL of His attributes – is everything and anything you will ever need.
Ava, Thank you for sharing this with my readers and for helping me with a guest post while I recover. I’m thinking this book would make a great Christmas gift.
When I was a teenager I so hoped I wouldn’t be like my mother. Anyone else have that thought? Maybe it was your father you didn’t want to be like?
Now I realize how valuable my mom is, and what she has passed on to me is mostly good.
Not so good? I find that I have a need to be right about everything, and my medical history seems to be a copying hers.
I look at the keyboard while I’m typing, and I see her hands. I’ve heard her words coming out of my mouth and I think, “I am my mother!”
She’s passed on some great things to me. The love of Jesus, strength when life is really hard–unbearable even. I’ve watched her stand strong when many would have fallen. I’m not quite there yet but I can see some of her strength in me.
I learned how to compete and be a good loser by playing hands of canasta and a marble game called agrevation. Mom also passed on the love of words to me. She taught me to read by the age of 4 using Rebus readers. But then she modeled reading. Mom showed me the joy in the adventure and escape from everyday life by opening a book and turning the pages. She also read me books that made me cry, like The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. I discovered it was okay to be sad and to grieve–even the fictional characters.
I discovered this gem of a photo of mom reading. Look at all those books on the shelf! Not only did the love of reading come from my mom but my grandparents.
My advise? Pass on the love of reading to the little ones in your life. Or volunteer to help others learn to read. You’ll be giving them the world.
How many times do you give up when you think the odds are to impossible to succeed?
How do you overcome obstacles blocking your way?
I came across this song by Mandisa. I knew I wasn’t alone. I have Him who goes before me, after me and lives within me. How could I not overcome?
Like everyone, I’ve had to overcome hard things in life. Grief has been able to grasp my ankles and pull me under many times. Some days I wrestle with dark spaces, and I don’t understand why all of my brothers had to go to heaven so soon. I don’t get to experience the annoying, “Hey you’re older than me,” or “What do you think we should get mom for Christmas–since you’re a girl, why don’t you do it?”
God has helped me overcome the sadness through two men at church who have taken the ‘Brother Role’ seriously. They will do something to make me laugh or annoy me,and I remember that I have brothers on earth. We’re related through Christ. I am grateful to Eric. S. and P.V. for providing a bit of family that might have been.