Category: guest

Fire Storm by Mackenzie Dare-Interview

Posted on by Diana Brandmeyer

 

 

Chatting with Mackenzie Dare

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.

Real fire storm Cover Mackenzie Dare

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.

Blessings,

Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

Package Deal by Ava Pennington

Posted on by Diana Brandmeyer

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. 

Diana

Names of God

 

==================================================================

 

Ava Pennington is the author of Daily Reflections on the Names of God, released by Revell Books and endorsed by Kay Arthur, founder of Precept Ministries International. Visit her blog at www.AvaWrites.com/blog, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter. She is also a regular contributor to My Purpose Now.

 

How can you help me and Ava? Tweet these. Thank you!

 

God knows your name. Do you know His? (CLICK TO TWEET)

 

Knowing God’s names will change how you trust Him. (CLICK TO TWEET)

 

How intimate is your relationship with God? (ClICK TO TWEET)

 

How many attributes of God do you know? (ClICK TO TWEET)

 

Christy Barrit Tells All for Valentine’s Day

Posted on by Diana Brandmeyer

What Would My Characters Do for Valentine’s Day?

Christy Barrit is visiting to day, answering the Valentine’s Day question.

So Christiy tell us,, what would your characters do?

Looking for ideas for what to do on Valentine’s? I was thinking about the characters from some of my books, wondering what they would do for this day of love. I thought maybe their ideas would give you some ideas!

 

Elle and Denton (Key Witness): Senator’s daughter Elle Philips and former Navy SEAL Mark Denton would go skiing for the weekend but wouldn’t spend all of their time on the slopes. Instead, they’d drink lots of hot chocolate and warm up by the fire in the lodge. Denton will suggest that they crash craft time, where there will be lots of laughs by all as they make a macramé owl.

 

Jack and Rachel (The Last Target): Since Jack runs a paramilitary contracting firm and Rachel runs a nonprofit to help the military overseas, their schedules are busy. They enjoy a slower pace when they have time alone. With Rachel’s son Aidan at a friend’s house, they’d order take out, play Scrabble, and relax with Rachel’s favorite movie (The Princess Bride, of course!).

 

Nick and Molly (Ricochet): This outdoorsy couple who run a Christian camp would roast marshmallows around the campfire. But they would—I repeat, would NOT—tell any scary campfire stories! Too many bad memories!

 

Gabby and Riley (The Squeaky Clean series, including Hazardous Duty, Suspicious Minds, and Organized Grime): It doesn’t matter what they do to start the evening—dinner, a movie, a stroll through downtown Norfolk, VA—it will most definitely end with crime-scene cleaner Gabby St. Claire sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong and somehow getting caught up in a murder investigation. That’s just the way she rolls. Thankfully Riley is there to reel her in.

 

Kylie and Nate (Keeping Guard): Chef Kylie and former Coastie Nate would cook together, with Kylie trying a new recipe that they might possibly try at their restaurant, The Revolutionary Grill, one day!

 

Brody and Madison (Race Against Time): Madison Jacobs decides she wants to search for heart-shaped objects (such as tree limbs that curve together to form the shape) for a new photo collection she’s putting together. Former New York City Detective Brody Philips tags along for the trip along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. They stop by their favorite seafood restaurant while they’re out.

 

Tara and Cooper (The Good Girl) (releasing in March): These two would be busy hosting a Valentine’s Banquet for the Homeless at their church. Afterward, they’d get coffee, where their friend Candy would spontaneously show up to crash their date.

 

About Christy:

 

Christy Barritt is an author, freelance writer and speaker who lives in Virginia. She’s married to her Prince Charming, a man who thinks she’s hilarious—but only when she’s not trying to be. Christy’s a self-proclaimed klutz, an avid music lover who’s known for spontaneously bursting into song, and a road trip aficionado. She’s only won one contest in her life—and her prize was kissing a pig (okay, okay… actually she did win the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Suspense and Mystery for her book Suspicious Minds also). Her current claim to fame is showing off her mother, who looks just like former First Lady Barbara Bush.

When she’s not working or spending time with her family, she enjoys singing, playing the guitar, and exploring small, unsuspecting towns where people have no idea how accident prone she is.

For more information, visit her website at: www.christybarritt.com.

 

Christy’s books can all be purchased from Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Christy-Barritt/e/B001HMWPIA/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1360707634&sr=8-2-ent

Christy Barrit Key WitnessChristy Barrit The Good GirlChristy Barrit Squeaky Clean

 

 

Only a few days left to snag Mind of Her Own for $1.99!

Pam Hillman,Oreo Balls and Claiming Mariah

Posted on by Diana Brandmeyer

 

Pam Hillman Shares Oreos & Claiming Mariah

Welcome Pam Hillman.Pam hillman

Pam’s written a new book Claiming Mariah. I loved it. Read my review of Claiming Mariah.

She also has a great give away going on so don’t miss what she has to say at the end of this post. 

 

 

CAUTION!!! Pam doesn’t have to eat gluten-free but you can still make her recipe gluten-free by using those pretend gluten free oreos. 

K Let’s take a break from the busyness of blogging and talk about something yummy! I am in search or the easiest Oreo Truffle recipe on the face of the planet.

 

The recipe I’m going to share below for Oreo truffles are melt-in-your-mouth delicious, but I will tell you that they are hard to make. But never fear, I think I’ve found an easier recipe, so read on to find out what it is, and enjoy the “eye truffles” along the way.

 

Triple-Chocolate Oreo Truffles (version one)

ingredients

1/2 cup cold milk

1 pkg.  (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

36 OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 3 cups)

1-1/2 pkg.  (8 squares each) BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate (12 squares), melted

1 square BAKER’S White Chocolate, melted (optional)

 

chop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First thing you need to do is to crush the Oreo cookies as small as you can. If you mix your pudding and milk first, it will start thicken too soon.

 

scrape bowl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mix ½ cup milk and 1 pkg of instant pudding. Fold the cookie crumbs into the pudding mixture.

bowl mix

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see from the picture, it will be very crumbly. Don’t add milk. Crumbly is good!
Next, form small balls on a cookie sheet. This can be a little messy. I’m not sure how to do this without making a mess, but do your best. If you have a mini ice cream scoop, try that.

balls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once you have all your pretty little balls ready, put them in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. Then melt the baker’s semi-sweet chocolate and roll the Oreo cookie balls. Place them on a piece of wax paper until they harden.
Melt a square or two of white chocolate and drizzle on top of the chocolate balls if you want to make them just a little more elegant.

holly jolly

 

 

Serve with ice cold milk and enjoy!!!

 

 

Breaking news!

 

My sister-in-law made some Oreo Cream Cheese Truffles using cream cheese. That sounded a LOT easier than the ones I made, and I have to say, her recipe does look simpler.

 

Triple-Chocolate Oreo Truffles (version two)

 

36 OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided

1 pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

16 oz.  BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

 

Now that I’ve found this other recipe, I must make these again. All in the name of research, you understand.

 

What about you? Have you made Oreo Truffles? Please share your recipe for the fastest, easiest, yummiest Oreo Truffles known to man!

 

~

 

Pam is thrilled to announce the release of her second novel,

Claiming Mariah

claiming Mariah

 

In light of her father’s death, Mariah Malone sends a letter that will forever alter the lives of her family. When Slade Donovan, strong willed and eager for vengeance, shows up on her front porch, Mariah is not ready to hear his truths: her father’s farm, the only home she’s ever known, was bought with stolen gold. With Slade ready to collect his father’s rightful claim and force Mariah and her family out on the streets, Mariah must turn to God for guidance. Though Mr. Fredrick Cooper, a local landowner, promises to answer her financial woes if she agrees to be his bride, Mariah finds herself drawn instead to the angry young man demanding her home.

With the ranch now under Slade’s careful eye, he will unearth more than he ever imagined as a devious plot of thievery, betrayal and murder threatens more than the well-being of the ranch, endangering the lives of those who hold it dear. With days dwindling until the rest of the Donovan clan arrive to the Lazy M ranch, Mariah and Slade must rise above the resentment of their fathers and see their true feelings before greed alters their futures forever.

Claiming Mariah Amazon link: http://tinyurl.com/apnzl5n

Claiming Mariah B&N link: http://tinyurl.com/ays6fq7

Claiming Mariah CBD link: http://tinyurl.com/bvjx3m7

Claiming Mariah Goodreads link: http://tinyurl.com/d9u2k6j

Claiming Mariah 1st Chapter: http://tinyurl.com/ageh54r

 

To celebrate, Pam is giving away two eReaders

(choice of Kindle Wi-Fi, 6″ Display, or Nook Simple Touch)

Two Winners: One on facebook. One through Pam’s Newsletter.


Facebook Drawing for Kindle/Nook

Pam’s Newsletter

 

Registering both places is not required but will double your chances of winning. Also keep in mind that you will receive updates more often being connected on facebook than through the newsletter. Just sayin’

Contest runs from January 1st until March 31st, 2013.

 

And….that’s not all! There will be prizes offered randomly throughout the tour.

 

This week’s giveaway:

$10 Starbucks Gift Card!

 

 PREVIOUS STOP ON TOUR:

February 5th: Blogging with Becky Jacoby


NEXT STOP ON TOUR:

February 7th: Blogging with Jo Huddleston

 

 Click for a Complete List of Stops Along the Tour

 

www.pamhillman.com

Overcoming Obstacles

Posted on by Diana Brandmeyer

Overcoming Obstacles

Cell War Notebooks

How do you overcome the huge obstacle of promoting your book if you are dead?

This month is National Cervical Cancer awareness month and today’s post is because of this woman who battled to overcome cervical cancer. She lost.

Her name is Julie.

Julie Cellwar Notebooks
Julie

She wrote a book in 2009 — an inspirational, brave, honest memoir called the Cell War Notebooks, compilation of Julie’s blog posts from the last seven months of her life as she battled cervical cancer with hope, bravery, and a great sense of humor.Julie’s mom is doing what she can to promote the book but she’s asked for help. Having lost a husband to cancer I wanted to do that for Julie’s daughter, Luka.

I accepted the challenge to mention Julie in this post along with her book Cell War Notebooks because the proceeds from her book will help her daughter.

the challenge is to share about a obstacle I overcame.

Anyone who personally knows me will tell you that needles, blood, anything medical-makes me turn green or pass out. I’m not the one to call in an emergency. My youngest will be happy to tell you about the trip to the ER when I got lost because I was so freaked out. Or my oldest will explain how when he called about the accident he was in I didn’t handle it well.

But there was one time I did get over the medical obstacle. My first husband, John had a brain tumor. They tried to remove it but it wasn’t possible to get all of it out. That’s bad enough news and I didn’t think it could get any worse.

Before he was released from the hospital I was told I would be cleaning the head wound and re-bandaging it. I was so scared. There was no way I would be able to look at stitches and staple in my husbands scalp and be able to stand up.

There wasn’t a choice. We didn’t live close to family, our son was only 1. It was me or the risk of infection. I’m not going to give you details –to disturbing to write or read! The first time I did it was extremely difficult. But I made it. I didn’t cause him more pain–at least he was kind enough to say that I didn’t. That obstacle was one of the biggest I’ve ever faced, not just the surgery but his death later. I belive the reason I could do the things required of me is because God gave me the strength.

If you can would you please tell others about Julie’s book? Here is a direct link to purchase it. It is not an affiliate link, all money will go to Luka.

 

Cell War Notebooks

 

What obstacle have you overcome? Please share big or small!
Diana
*if you would like to find out more and how you can help read this post.

Thank you!

Posted on by Diana Brandmeyer

Thanks to You!

I’ve only been on WordPress a few months and it’s been tough building up followers.

This morning jetpack sent me a 2012 report on my top commenters!  I have to say thank you to them.

hand made card

I’m also linking to their sites so you can find new blogs to read.

 Ginger Solomon

Retha Groenwald

Valerie Comer

Debbie
I know from my stats that there are many of you reading, but not commenting and that is okay. I thank you too!

Something to note, if you’ve been following by networked blogs I’ve deleted that widget. If you want to know when new posts are up please subscribe by email or RSS.

Blessings,

Diana

Thanks to my friend Debbie W. for the cool card!

No Room

Posted on by Diana Brandmeyer

 

No Room?

By:  Staci Stallings

Many Christians lament the “taking over of Christmas” by retailers and the world in general.  They rail about the commercialization of Christmas, how harried and over-hyped it’s gotten to be, how secularized.  They love to tell stories about how their local chain store had Christmas stuff up before Halloween.  Maybe they always have.  I suspect they always will.  But I want to take one small moment and point something out to you.

The “world” has ALWAYS sought to co-opt God.  They have always sought to relegate Him to the corner, to push Him aside, and convince everyone that “there’s nothing to see here… oh, look at this shiny thing over THERE!”

I have been thinking of writing this post for about a week now, but last night I got a stark reminder of it once again.  My hometown of Nazareth (yes, you read that right) used to produce an entire pageant depicting the Christmas story.  You know, the original one from the Bible.  The pageant was written many years ago and has, after 15 years in mothballs, made a comeback this year.  Because they use literally the townspeople, who number about 400 total, and about 125 are required for the play, they have some who read the lines, others who act it out, some who sing, and some who do the technical backstage stuff.  This is no small undertaking.  One cool thing is that they don’t stay with only one Gospel.  They mix them all so you get the full story rather than bits and pieces here and there.  We went to see this awesome production last night, and WOW!  I had forgotten how powerful it is.

Seeing your friends and neighbors as the shepherds in the fields, the angels from on high, the three wisemen, Mary, Joseph, and even Baby Jesus.  It’s just… WOW!

However, the scene that struck me most (because I’ve been thinking about this post) was the scene with the innkeeper.  The song they sing is called, “There was no room for Him… no room.”  It tells the story of that moment, when the Savior of the world was to be born, and no one welcomed Him.  The moment He was sent to be born in a stable because there was no room for Him the world.  Few even knew He had arrived.  In fact, the world said, “I’m sorry.  There’s no room for You here.”  So, you see, this whole, “We’re losing the meaning of Christmas” thing is not new.  It’s as old as the very night Jesus came to this earth.

But the end of that song asks a simple question about if there is room for Him in YOUR heart.

That brings me to this post.

Sure, you can rail about no one saying Merry Christmas anymore.  That’s easy.  But what are YOU doing to keep Christ in Christmas?  What traditions do YOU have that remind you and yours what the season is really all about?  Are you about the business of passing on a legacy of the real meaning of Christmas?  If not, why not?

I love my sister and her husband for a lot of reasons.  One of the reasons is because the are both fanatical (in a good way) about establishing GOOD traditions for their kids, and by extension, us.  Interestingly, the traditions change over the years, but as one falls away, it is replaced with something equally wonderful.

They were the instigators who got us to go to “Christmas in the Canyon” years ago.  That was the cowboy Christmas celebration at the beginning of December.  It was celebrated at a local children’s camp.  We would go down, have supper, go on a nighttime hayride to the edge of the Palo Duro Canyon, sing Christmas carols, make sugar cookies, then come back up and go to this OLD church and sing more songs.  The end of the night was capped off with a sing along around a roaring fire.  It was awesome.

Well, a few years after we started going, they quit doing “Christmas in the Canyon” because the main couple that ran it had a wreck.  So the next year, unwilling to let a good tradition die, my sister and her husband invited us all over to their house for chili, decorating sugar cookies, and a sing-a-long.  That’s our new tradition, and it has stuck.

Some of the traditions I’ve started include singing the old carols with my Sunday School class and explaining the symbols of Christmas to them.  In my family, we always have our Christmas meal.  It’s the only night of the year when we eat on a tablecloth covered table, by candlelight, in the living room.  The kids look forward to it.  After that meal, we open our family’s presents.  The kids always get pajamas so the have something new and fluffy to wake up in the next morning.

We have certain songs we break out every year at this time… some that are traditional, some that are funky, but all are unique to our family.  We have a tradition of going to sit on Santa’s lap and getting a picture taken.  We have a tradition of nice dresses for the girls (the only time of the year they get to go to a “real” store–JC Penney’s for clothes).  We have a tradition of sending out a Christmas letter as my husband and I both have family in far-flung places.

We have a tradition of it being extra-special to put the angel on the top of the tree (this year it was a three person job up high and a two person job to take the picture down low).  We always decorate our tree on December 12.  Why?  Because the year my husband and I got married, I had a student teaching assignment two hours away.  The 12th was the first day I got to be HOME for real.  We have decorated the tree that day ever since.  We have a tradition of celebrating Christmas with both of our families as well as extended “friend” families.

Last night we got to add going to see the Christmas pageant to our list of traditions.

Each tradition, for us, is another little reminder not just that it’s Christmas but why we celebrate Christmas and passing down to our children how important Christmas is, so they will pass it on long after we’re gone.

So, it seems to me that although the world will always try to push Christ out of Christmas, the real question is:  What are you doing in your family and beyond to welcome Christ into YOUR heart?  Or will Jesus find a “No room” sign on your heart too?

To me, that’s a choice only you can make.  And if you don’t have a tradition, start one.  Sit in your living room and read the Christmas story out loud.  Sing a few songs.  Go to church.  Have a special quiet meal.  Whatever it is, find a special way to celebrate.  You will be glad you did!

Copyright Staci Stallings, 2009

Staci Stallings Author Bio & Tag for Cowboy

 

Staci Stallings, the author of this article, is a #1 Best Selling Contemporary Christian Romance author and the founder of Grace & Faith Author Connection. Staci has a special surprise for you today and tomorrow only…

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Cowboy

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Timothy Ashton Raines is at the top of his game and the end of his rope until one night, he walks away from everything…

Available today as a free download from Amazon!