Until that interview and the corresponding book are ready, though, I do actually have something to blog. This is a throwback to when my blog was actually read, I guess. But I still think these words are worth repeating.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.      1 Cor. 13:4-7 (NIV)

In recent months, I have become enraptured by the goodness of God presented boldly and plainly in the Old Testament. Now, some of you are thinking, “Oh, no, God was mean in the Old Testament!” Though, if you call yourself a Christian you might not admit that thought out-loud. Others of you are thinking, “Duh! Of course He was good in the Old Testament! Our God is good all the time!” And of course, you are 100% correct.

To give you specific examples of what I’m feeling, though, let’s just think about Adam and Eve. God created a perfect world and plopped them down in its center. He gave them one law. One law. Obey me. Eat. Prosper. Enjoy. But don’t eat from that one tree in the middle of the garden.  Why did God even say that? Have you ever wondered that? Why did He make the fruit pleasing to the eyes? Why didn’t He place flaming swords to bar the way to that one tree?!

Before I offer my minor opinion on that point, let’s look at another story. In Exodus nineteen, when God came down from Heaven to give the law and to essentially marry Israel, have you ever noticed what He said?

“The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up and the Lord said to him, ‘Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish.’ “ Exodus 19:20-21 (NIV)

God is good, and because He’s good, He can know how fully awesome He is without any measure of arrogance. He is the very definition of awesomeness. No one is better. It’s not bragging if it’s true. And so, knowing full well of His own greatness and the measure of love He is capable of bestowing, God expected the Israelites to run full speed at the mountain. He warned them not to because He’s also aware of what His holiness does to unholiness. He wanted to protect them, and He thought that warning was necessary because He couldn’t even imagine His people not being eager about meeting with Him.

If your heart is anything like mine, you might need tissues before reading what happened next. Because, you see, our perfect God was not mobbed by throngs of adoring fans. The mountain was not charged. They did not approach to the point they’d been allowed to in hopes of catching a glimpse of His glory. No, they stayed at a distance and sent Moses with pathetic high school love notes addressed to the Creator of the Universe who’d rescued them to make them His.

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. Exodus 20:18-21 (NIV)

We know that God is love, but do we stop to think about all that that means? Do we stop to consider that the all-knowing God of the universe will actually set His knowing aside and assume that we will love Him correctly, obey Him perfectly, and reach the full potential He intended in our creation? He is love.

“Love always trusts, always hopes.”

Love is not concerned about looking silly or being let down. Love doesn’t care about those things. Love continues to assume the very best even when history would prove that a foolish thing to do. Our Creator assumes the best about us, even though—at the very same time—He knows exactly what we will do. He never lets the knowledge of our future failures taint the hope He has for our success. He’s been rooting for our obedience and love since the Garden of Eden.

If, like me, you have just a sampling of this kind of love, hope, trust for another human being…don’t let the world steal it. They have no right to take what you have received directly from your Father. And after all, you’re just daring to follow in the footsteps of a God who fully believes you can.

I’m not revealing any real details about this book, and I won’t until it’s for sale. I do want to tell you that writing it has changed my life. I don’t mean the way pinon coffee or Double Stuffed Oreos changed my life. I mean in a deep down to my soul, waking and sleeping kind of way. I’ve been in the Word more over these last six months that in my entire Christian life combined. I dream in Scripture, and I sleep with the computer by my bed so I can raise a sleepy hand to the keyboard to look up words in Hebrew. I’m not sleeping much, actually, but the refreshment of the Spirit is more than worth it. When this book is finished and published, I’m doing what I said I’d do last time and I’m checking into a hotel to sleep until I wake up.

In the mean time, as I’m sure I’ll still be a little quiet as I wrap up this current project, please keep checking back. I’ll try to update at least once a week and will continue to posts reviews and contests as needed. In case you need a reminder of our review policy here at KT+1, we subscribe to the philosophy that “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” I just put that in quotes but have the sneaky feeling I misquoted. You never need my permission to send me a product for review (or, ya know, to send me coffee), and I never charge for reviews. Just check the “Contact” link for more information.

Till next time!

Somewhere inside me is someone so much better (and I mean more talented) than I have the time and energy–the focus, maybe, to be. She speaks to me in those early morning hours when I’m too tired to reach for a pen. Apparently, she requires much less sleep than I do. She preaches violently if not eloquently as I shower, but the revelation leaves about the time I stop dripping. I’m dry. When I wrote my first book, I wrote it quickly–rapidly–do or die. I wrote late at night and through the wee small hours of the morning. I edited while Dora the Explorer babysat loudly in the foreground of my 800 square foot mobile home. Dora, Dora, Dora… I was broken; yet, as I wept, even the oldest scars reopened and then truly healed. I had to share, and I didn’t want to forget it all before I had written it down. So I wrote,  and when it was finished, I hit “publish”. And then I mourned it. I allowed Satan to torment me over it. I had published my first book, and I still didn’t feel like a writer.

If you’ve read 31 Days to Lovely:A Journey of Forgiveness, I hope you’ve received it as truth. It’s just the Bible alongside my meek and simple life. It’s not flowery or overtly pretty. Truthfully, it’s not what I’ve spent the last fifteen plus years hoping my first book would be. It doesn’t showcase me–it’s not about me at all. Still, maybe I wanted it to be about me. I still want to be a writer.

Today, my book received it’s first bad–pot-shot filled review on Amazon. The words that everyone feels sure I can brush off  captured the depth of my secret self-loathing. It’s from there the melancholia is flowing. You see, Satan won’t knock on those doors that are barred and guarded. He slips through the open ones. He knows all about my writer’s envy, it comes from him, and how I have a hard time loving Ann Voskamp (I’m kidding, how could anyone not love Ann?!). But so what if my book lacks the polish I might have found through more time and maybe a little more solitude? What does it matter if my words are simply words and not prose? The message, if received, will change lives. I truly believe that. After all, it changed mine. That’s why He asked me to write it.

I’m writing this post to break my silence–to speak to yours. I’m writing to every musician who has slaved over a song and then flipped on the radio to hear something better. I’m writing on behalf of every mom who has baked and decorated a two a.m. cake only to discover Pinterest later that same day. I’m writing for every athlete who has given her all only to be beaten by superior talent. I’m writing to every ex-beauty queen who has manually lifted her aging face as she’s leaned a little too close to the mirror. Someone will always be smarter, better, prettier. And that’s OK, sisters, because we are not our gifts. We are daughters of the Most High God! What people think about us cannot touch that. What we believe about ourselves cannot touch that. But what we think about ourselves will effect that we do and in what ways we serve His Kingdom.

I feel silly, like I usually do, admitting tears because one of you doesn’t like me. Maybe, I hope, my silliness will help to heal yours.

Out of true perspective comes immediate action; and when I feel the gut-wrench of helplessness, my only obtainable action is heartfelt prayer. So I’m coming to you today on behalf of Sabajit, Rodrigo, and Basu. They have parents who are struggling even to feed and to clothe them, Lord. I know a little about how that feels. Their sons sign their letters as my sons, and I count that as the greatest privilege of my life. Please pour your mercy and grace upon them . They’re heavy on my heart today, Jesus, and I ask that you abundantly bless them–bless them as they’ve blessed me. I’m asking you, on behalf of my five children, that you bless us, too. But more than your blessings, please grant us the perspective necessary to truly know that we’ve already been blessed.

Please help me to raise children who possess open palms. Help us to lay down any luxury for the sake of life. And when it is called for, help us to lay down our lives for the sake of life. Thank you for birthing me, and for birthing my children in such a way as would prevent us from looking downward, so that even in the privilege of our birth, we grasp our equality with those scorned and despised. Thank you for your careful teaching. I acknowledge that any gift worthy of receiving comes straight from you. When we become your hands, our hands are blessed. And when we withhold with clinched fists and worldly judgment, we curse ourselves and refuse your heart.

I ask you to expand my reach and to bless many more children through me. Thank you for the blessings that are poured out, dumped with a drenching force, just through the privilege of serving you. It is such an honor to do so.

If you have not yet experienced the blessing of a sponsored child, I urge you to be moved with compassion. I promise you, you will never regret it.

I haven’t put up their curtains, yet, but I plan to use the same ones we’ve been using for awhile. And I’m ordering canvases so their walls can feature their own artwork. When it’s all finished and cute, I’ll post again.

Here’s the bed. It’s a twin over full bunk. But there is also room to slide another full mattress right underneath. So, now, it’s a twin over full over full. I think I’m a genius (and Lula thinks so, too).

The bedding is also from Wal-Mart, but we would never be able to find it in our small town store. That’s what makes Wal-Mart’s free site-to-store shipping so awesome. Big city bargains delivered straight to our mountain Wal-Mart! Can’t beat that!

The closet is still unfinished. I really hate sliding closet doors, so I’m thinking about redoing the whole inside with shelves and rods. Maybe something like this. Or a bunch of these. But I really like this, which would leave room for shelves on each end. If you’ve redone a closet, please let me see. When I look here, all I see is wasted space. Which, of course, we can’t have!

But that’s what we have, for now. A very clean and workable bedroom–with just enough stuff and plenty of room for all.

My conditioner is a man. Isn’t yours? 

And it’s true, I’m not spending money on my hair. I refuse. If they don’t sell it at Wal-Mart, it ain’t goin’ on my hair (unless I’ve made it from my own kitchen, which I sometimes do). But have you seen how many shampoos and conditioners they sell at Wal-Mart?! Surely one of them will work, and as a long term solution so that I know what I want to buy instead of standing, dazed and confused, in front of a wall of perfumed confusion.

For the past week, I’ve been happy with my hair. Really happy. And the miraculous part is that I’ve even been happy with my hair on the second day. Cause let’s face it, I don’t get to wash my hair every day. When Dove asked me to try their Intensive Repair Conditioner, I wasn’t expecting it to be a workable every day conditioner. The name implies something thick and rich–and it is. But it rinses cleaner and makes my hair feel lighter than anything I’ve used in a long, long time. I’m used to filling the palm of my hand with conditioner, but Dove’s Intensive Repair Conditioner just slides right through every strand so that I only need about a quarter sized amount to do the job. I’ve been trying to think of something to complain about, just to give this post a little more credibility. I’ve got nothin’. I like the smell, the texture, and for my medium amount of very fine hair, it’s healed the summertime damage without weighing it down–even after a whole week nearly every day use.

And I haven’t had to jump back in the shower!

Pardon the grays, but this is my hair a full two days after washing and conditioning using Dove’s Intensive Repair Conditioner.

Really, what more could a girl ask for? Well, besides a $1,000 Spa Finder gift card! Yep, you read that right. I said one-thousand dollars. Dove’s not playin’ around. Just follow the link and let me know what you’d do (please, take me with you!) with a $1000 Spa Finder card. You can’t win if you don’t enter! And as a consolation for the rest of us, grab the Dove coupon and try one of their new conditioners. I’m pretty sure it will make your day, or your hair-day (like there is really a difference).

Enter to win a $1,000 Spafinder gift certificate!

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{Really, you are.}

So what do you do when your best friend gets remarried – to her ex-husband – and you knew it the whole dang time? What do you do when this wedding is the one you’ve truly been waiting for, and now life has made it so that you won’t be able to attend? Well first, you cry. Quite a bit, actually.

Then, you say something like, “Well, what if I threw you a blog shower?!”

And if your best friend is Ellyn, she responds with something like, “Oh, well, I don’t know.”

“You could register?!” you prod.

“Oh, yeah, I don’t think anyone would care.”

I don’t know what you would do, but I’m choosing to take a risk – and assume that some of you just might care! I’m throwing her a bloggy wedding shower sans permission!

This is John and Ellyn’s very first formal wedding. Just another thing we have in common: their first ceremony was an elopement. John proposed after an over two and a half year separation that led to divorce. They have healed and truly fallen in love. Ellyn is such a testament to forgiveness and commitment, and John should be commended for his humility. These two have six amazing children together (one is in heaven). In other words, this wedding shouldn’t be down-played because they’ve done this before…

they have never done this before!

And this time, I believe that forever is guaranteed.

Ellyn doesn’t have any idea that I’m doing this. Hopefully, once I send her the link to her registry (now loaded with gift cards), she’ll cave  and add a few things. But would you please join me in celebrating this amazing family? I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more!

If you would like to join me in wishing Ellyn and John a happily ever after, please “sign” in the comments section. Along with your well wishes, let me know how you came to know Ellyn and John. I’ll gather the comments and put them in a guestbook for her. Also, I know I’m not the only one in blogland who loves the McCalls. If you’d like to write your own post, congratulating them on their marriage, I’d love to link up to you!

{I love you, friend.}

Cause, apparently, I have only three things on my mind, lately: food, Pandora, and Roku.

And this post isn’t about food.

No, last night my status read, “In case y’all didn’t know, cause you NEED to know…Pandora through Roku is sans commercials.” And after I answered everyone’s questions about what the heck a Roku is, I thought, “Hmmm…I wonder if Roku would pay me for this?!”

And I guess they will!

Here’s the deal, y’all. My brother gave me a Roku box (probably one of the first ever made) three years ago for Christmas. We were sans t.v. at the time, and apparently he thought that we needed more entertainment in our lives. Today, we’re still using the same Roku box, and we’ve never even thought about upgrading to cable or dish or whatever.

Right now, we’re watching The Electric Company (which we like to do before phonics) on Netflix. For the rest of the day, our Roku will stream Pandora (DC Talk radio, thankyouverymuch). We’ll probably rent a movie though Amazon, tonight (because I’ve been promising the kids that we’d rent The Muppets). And after the kids go to bed, I’m going to watch the House season finale on HuluPlus. – And those or only some of the channels that are available by plugging that little black box into your t.v.!

The most commonly asked question about Roku is, “What am I going to pay monthly for Roku?”

The answer to that is, “As much or as little as you want!” There are quite a few free Roku channels (though none quite as appealing as Netflix or HuluPlus), so you could just buy the box and be done! There is no monthly charge for Roku itself, you’re only buying the box (one-time purchase). Netflix charges monthly, as does HuluPlus. Also, Roku offers additional paid channels (though, I’ve never even felt the need to try them).

I’ve overheard quite a few of you questioning your t.v. bill, or wondering if you simply have too many channels. If you’re thinking about making the break from t.v. without completely making the break…

Well, obviously, I think you should get a Roku!

It’s been a pretty uneventful day, like most days are to tell you the truth. We had German pancakes (microwaved in individual mugs) for breakfast, turkey sandwiches for lunch and leftovers for dinner. The girls picked me a large vase full of long-stemmed dandelions (the love I had for those awful things when I was a girl has been delightfully passed to my children). It’s beautiful, actually; I can’t wait for a summer full of flowers!

It’s Tuesday…oh yea…Wednesday. This week is dragging by because I am oh, so excited for Sunday. Church, a sermon from one of my very favorite evangelists, and the Red River motorcycle rally! Yes, I will be toting my camera.

What do you have planned for the weekend? BBQ? Swimming? Other wonderful summer announcing things?!

Summer in the mountains, y’all know what that means?? You get to “hear” me brag about the fabulous weather outside and complain about the awful heat inside. Hehe. I’ll try not to do either one too often.

I warned you that today has been uneventful (and you read on anyway!), but I will leave you with a little small town humor…

Bay Bit (our five year old daughter) likes to grab my phone, or any phone, and pretend to dial. Then she holds the phone to her ear and waits a few seconds before responding, “Oh, sorry, wrong neighbor.”

I think that makes me a jerk. 

But I’m ready to review it, now. And to make up for my lack of blogging, I have a free, signed, copy to give away to one of you!

Jackie’s book is a niche book, for sure. It is only for moms who get frustrated with their lives and children and are not lactose intolerant. Fortunately, that’s a pretty enormous niche! And it’s one that I believe 98% of my readers fall into.

Let’s get the bad news out of the way, first. This book could make you me very, very fat. But if you’ll look through my Foody Friday posts, I think you’ll come to the conclusion that I’m not that worried.

“How to Spread Sanity on a Cracker: Mom-to-Mom Whines, Cheese, Rants and Recipes,” is a book for moms who love cheese and love to wash down whines with laughter. It’s that simple. This book is for pretty much all people female. And your husbands will devour the absolutely never calorie counting recipes.

I don’t want to give too much away, but if you want to learn how to make an amazing (and fast) baked brie while reading about Jackie’s difficult introduction to stay-at-home motherhood…or how to make spinach dip while giggling over the true story behind what she lovingly calls “pay-to-stay” mom parties…this is the book for you. It’s funny, it’s fattening, it’s pretty fabulous!

If you want a free copy (I only have one, so the rest of you are going to have to buy your own!), tell me how much you love cheese (or hate whine – or both) in the comments.

And in honor of Friday, I thought I’d let you in on one of our little household comforts. It’s caused my children to exclaim, “You’re the best mom in the world!” on several occasions, so I think it’s worth sharing with you.

A few years ago, someone (one of you, I believe) told me that you could microwave cake in a coffee mug. I was given a recipe with this amazing bit of knowledge, but y’all know how well I stick to those. To this day, filling a greased mug half way with cake batter and microwaving it for somewhere under a minute is still our favorite way to achieve dessert bliss is less than five minutes.

But now, we’ve brought the revolution to breakfast!

Because you can, I’m happy to announce, do the same thing with pancake batter!