Congratulations to Nancy at ______@aol.com for winning this giveaway. Actually, I will be sending Nancy two copies (one to fill out and one to give away) of A BOOK ABOUT ME within the next two days.

I also will be sending two copies of the book to One Thrifty Gurl for her to give away in one of her upcoming giveaway events. OTG graciously included notice of my giveaway on her blog. Thanks!

Now, if you’re wishing your name had been drawn, we will be scheduling future giveaways. If you don’t want to wait for the next giveaway, copies of the book are easily purchased. Print this order form, complete it and mail (with remittance) to the address at the bottom of the order form.

Or, if you’d rather download the form before printing, here’s the download link.

Thanks for your entries, and we look forward to more giveaways in the future.

Filed under: Books, Giveaways, Writing Tagged: book giveaway, books, reminiscences, writing ]]> http://wiseblooding.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/giveaway-winner-announcement/feed/ 0 wiseblooding BookCover Order Form http://wiseblooding.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/once-upon-a-time-stories/ http://wiseblooding.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/once-upon-a-time-stories/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:13:36 +0000 wiseblooding http://wiseblooding.wordpress.com/?p=779 Continue reading →]]> It’s Tuesday, January 31, 2012! That means, at 11:59 p.m. this evening, I will be choosing one of my blog’s subscribers to receive a copy of A BOOK ABOUT ME (which really isn’t about me). If you’ll read my blog posting Fifteen Minutes a Day, it will provide specifics for entry into this giveaway, then decide whether or not to throw your name in the hat for a copy of the book.

For now, as a reminder about the giveaway, I thought I’d provide a little more information about the book itself.

It may be purchased via Amazon. As you can tell from the picture of the front cover, it’s spiral-bound. Inside are pages (one for every day of the year) on which YOU can write your personal story.

To give you an understanding of how the book is organized, here’s a reproduction of the Table of Contents.

Beginning with January 1, each day poses a question or questions and provides fill-in boxes where you can write your answer. (It works something like a diary, but don’t worry. You can start writing wherever you like — it’s your book! You can even take time to ponder a question before writing your answer in the space provided.)

Each month focuses on one particular aspect of life. Here’s what the first pages of January look like.

This simple format permits you to tell your once-upon-a-time story! Whether the written answer is a sentence or a paragraph, each day’s entry sketches your personal portrait in fuller detail.

If you like, you might give copies of this book to your loved ones whose stories you’re dying to know. The book is an invaluable aid in gathering some of the tales and life experiences your loved ones may never have shared with you (or anyone) before.

You won’t need exceptional writing skills nor storytelling talents, but capturing your loved one’s memories into book form will preserve those details for you and for succeeding generations.

True Story:  A friend of mine (I’ll call him Jim) bought one of the books and gave it to his father. When his father died suddenly, Jim was overwhelmed by the loss, but when he began going through his father’s belongings, he found the book and — much to his delight — discovered a treasure-trove of stories his dad had left for him!

The book covers more than ordinary vital statistics and easily-obtained factual data. Some questions address the untold story — how your loved one looks (today) at life decisions made at crucial turning points of life. Here’s a sample page from the latter part of the book that delves into The Road Not Taken:

Okay, I hope I’ve given an adequate overview of the book as something about which you can get excited. I love once-upon-a-time stories! Even though I may not know you personally, I’m confident your once-upon-a-time is worthy of telling (and reading) and preserving for loved ones not yet born.

Don’t let that story get away from you. Once upon a time might be gone before you know it! (Announcement of the giveaway winner will be in tomorrow’s post.)

In the days following the blackout, my reflections veered in an unexpected direction. With the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade occurring on January 22nd, I contemplated what the impact might have been if all those organizations defending freedom of expression (our First Amendment) had instead devoted a scant 24 hours toward defending Human Life.I have high regard for freedom of expression and the significance of the First Amendment, but in order to enjoy freedom of expression, one must first be blessed with Life. Is it ever extreme to err on the side of Life?

I know I’m grabbing hold of a hornet’s nest, because people have such strong (and divergent) views about abortion. For many years, abortion activists advocated keeping abortion “safe, legal and rare.” [The word "rare" was deleted from the 2008 Democrat party platform, but the phrase remains part of political discourse.]

Bill Clinton staked this position as his moral high ground. When Hillary Clinton sought elective office, she upheld the safe/legal/rare stance while admitting in 2005 abortion was ” … a sad, even tragic choice to many, many women.”

But why rare? The argument goes like this:  Is it rational to be concerned about the number of abortions that take place, if abortion is safe and legal?

Writer Jefferson Morley in a 2002 column at Slate identified the dilemma, explaining voters are “… uncomfortable with the inescapable reality that abortion involves ending a potential human life.”

Did you get that? The debate has shifted away from the old days when people referred to the unborn as “products of conception” and “globs of tissue.”

Writing in the Guttmacher Institute’s Guttmacher Policy Review, Susan A. Cohen offers this stunning admission:  ” … even many of those who support legal abortion also have moral qualms about it.”

The electorate is generally “uncomfortable” about “ending potential human life.” Abortion remains legal, but even its supporters “have moral qualms.” Indeed. It’s 39 years and counting since the Supreme Court instituted abortion, resulting in some 50 million lives extinguished. (Politifact Texas provides a reasoned discussion about this total.)

Almost weekly, we hear stories about babies weighing less than a pound who survive and grow into healthy children! Those stories don’t just serve as testimony to magnificent medical advances; the stories underscore our society’s incomprehensible schizophrenia.

So, in keeping with the spirit of defending free expression, we mourn today (and everyday) all those whose quest for knowledge and free expression ended in the womb. In his poem No Man Is An Island, John Donne says:  ” … any man’s death diminishes me ….” How much more the deaths of 50 million innocents?

I’ll defer to Chris Harrison voice-overs to belabor the question of whether Ben will “find true love.” In splendid counterpoint to that bachelor’s situation, I offer a tale of genuine love — in action.

Jim and Lynda have been married almost forty-eight years. In 1977, Lynda was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; throughout the illness, Jim has remained steadfastly by her side. Word came via email last week that Lynda is nearing the end of her days on this earth.

Author Irving Stone once observed:  “Story writers say that love is concerned only with young people, and the excitement and glamour of romance end at the altar. How blind they are. The best romance is inside marriage; the finest love stories come after the wedding, not before.”

Certainly, Jim and Lynda epitomize Stone’s depiction of “the finest love stories ….” — two ordinary people who have loved extraordinarily. Details of Jim and Lynda’s life together were included as part of a Focus on the Family series that discussed facing crises in marriage.

An article in the Summer 2007 issue of Brown Bulletin (a publication of John Brown University) also chronicles their journey. (If you read anything today, read this article; it captures the precious beauty of unconditional love demonstrated day-in and day-out.)

In 1968, I entered John Brown University (JBU) as a transfer student. One weekend, early in the semester, my parents came to visit. They were impressed with JBU and my dad quickly decided it was the place for my younger brother (who, this being the Vietnam era, was in danger of being drafted). “See what you can do,” my dad told me.

What I could do? I was a 19 year old transfer student. Having pursued the conventional approach to college admissions — submitting written application, obtaining transcripts, etc. — I didn’t share my dad’s hope that I might be able to “do” something.

Nevertheless, being a compliant daughter, I went to admissions where I met Jim. He listened when I explained my mission, and his can-do response was:  “Tell your brother to come. I’ll take care of things.”

Jim eventually became an instructor; my husband and I took his classes. We moved away briefly but after returning to the area, we saw Jim and Lynda from time to time. (Though ours is not an intimate association, we’ve always been cordial friends.) What a blessing to see Jim honor Lynda, valuing her presence, comfort, and input! An equal blessing to see the joie de vivre reflected in Lynda’s endearing smile!

[I began composing this post Tuesday; today an email arrived with news Lynda entered into the Lord's presence last night.]

Irving Stone would call theirs a “fine love story.” I wholeheartedly agree.

As one might predict, I followed the link. The webpage offers a baker’s dozen of common resolutions and links each resolution to other government websites designed to “help you achieve your goals.”

Really? Perhaps they would want to know one of my goals is to see the government transformed into a leaner, more effective, less intrusive version of this current behemoth. Will they help me achieve that goal?

[I recall President Reagan's quip:  "The nine most terrible words in the English language are:  'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"]

It’s enough to acknowledge the current US debt:  CBS News ran a story last January saying US Debt had topped $14 Trillion, USA Today noted this week the debt tops $15.23 Trillion. Wikipedia provides a plethora of graphs and charts, and everyone seems to understand this out-of-control spending is unsustainable … but don’t get me started! In this post, I refuse to rant about government.

Back to my topic of New Year’s resolutions, and in keeping with a previous post in which I stated one of my goals is to write 100 original sonnets, I offer the composition below.

You might guess, I’ve borrowed from the Apostle Paul (who eloquently described — in Romans 7 — the universal tug-of-war between flesh and spirit). I know that struggle first-hand. How about you?

One more thing:  Don’t forget the book giveaway. (See my previous post for rules.) Deadline for entry is January 31, 2012. Good Luck!

I don’t even have a scale, but I’m aware when my clothing feels more snug than normal. So, having partaken of many holiday goodies over the last couple months, I’ve been working the elliptical with added intensity and motivation.

Now comes a joint study released by Stanford University and Renford University (see more details in this article). The study reveals … (drum roll, please!) the secret of weight loss! The authors focused on 45 undergrad female students divided into two groups.

The first group were assigned to write daily for a mere 15 minutes about their passions (i.e. significant relationships, important values, cherished personal interests, etc.). The second group were tasked to write daily (again, for 15 minutes) about inconsequential aspects of their lives (i.e. things about which they were indifferent).

Four months later, the passion-driven writers had lost an average of 3.4 pounds while the disinterested writers had gained an average of 2.7 pounds!

[Did Demi Moore get wind of the study prior to its release? Just sayin' ... the dictionary used her image to illustrate the definition of "gaunt."]

So, what are you waiting for? Shed the extra poundage by writing your novel! Instead of a food diary, write your memoirs! Or take advantage of your expertise and specific knowledge and shape it into a how-to manual!

And, to help you get started on your memoirs (just call me Coach!), I’m sponsoring a giveaway this month. It’s a small book entitled A Book About Me. (No, it’s not really about me!) The spiral-bound book is designed with a fill-in box for each day of the year. To aid you in telling the story of you, each fill-in box poses a specific question about your life. Your answers can be long or short, but if you’re writing your memoirs, it’s an ideal place to begin spending those 15 minutes a day.

The book retails for $10.00. (Multiple copies are available at bulk rates, depending on how many are purchased.) For this giveaway, I’ll draw one name/entry from a hat and mail one book to the winner.

RULES? Giveaway ends January 31, 2012. Winner will be announced February 1, 2012. Your name/email address will be entered when you:

(1) Subscribe to my blog. (There’s a Subscribe button at the top right.) and (2) Leave a comment below the post. [If you wish, you may also LIKE -- see the SHARE buttons below -- but that isn't required for entry in the giveaway.]

This is the year for a sleeker physique and a portfolio bursting with new stories, poems, pithy compositions … Ouch! I’ve been pounding away on the elliptical when I could have been pounding my keyboard instead!

[A disclaimer:  I didn't watch the season where this young man was one of 25 entrants ... eventually the one whose heart was "crushed" when The Bachelorette (Ashley) rejected his proposal.]

Since The Bachelor and its spin-off, The Bachelorette, began airing in 2002, I’ve viewed a handful of episodes. In terms of success in capturing viewers for ABC, these are ratings winners. The ratings, of course, translate to advertising dollars for ABC — which is what ultimately keeps both shows on the air.

Considering its core audience (women ages 18-34), the “entertainment” aspect is partly what earns the shows a faithful following. But I believe what draws women goes beyond low-cost entertainment; the stronger draw (in my view) is the lure and potential of a Cinderella Story come to life.

Unfortunately, as a Cinderella Story, the shows fall flat. The potential for “true love” is as fleeting as a junior-high school crush. Proposals and engagements are frequent, but marriage is the rare exception.

[A word to grandmother Cheryl, mentioned earlier:  Are you crazy? How about just contracting your granddaughter to the highest bidder?]

At the risk of stepping on sensitive, nicely-manicured toes, I contend both shows perpetuate a myth that is demeaning to the participants as well as the core audience. ABC dangles the carrot … imagine … boy meets girl, they fall madly in love and marry. It’s happy-ever-after! Instead, ABC airs nine or ten melodramatic episodes where controversy and cat-fights are standard fare.

In numerous interviews for both shows, contestants say:  “when I’m with insert name here, I don’t have to fake it … I can be myself ….” In truth, even this desirable outcome appears illusory. Take this Bachelorette episode from last season; the conversation becomes painful to watch!

In the initial teaser, Ben characterizes his growing feelings for Ashley — “a breakthrough.” She helps him to be himself. As the 15-minute segment progresses, Ashley claims: “I can really be myself with Ben.” Describing their interaction, she adds:  “It’s like we’re on a honeymoon or something.”

Around the 9-minute mark, however, they’re discussing the possibility of their life together and Ashley’s body language visibly changes. No, she doesn’t recoil from or reject Ben’s physical advances, but her facial expressions and verbal cues betray a sudden coolness, a distinct unease. Whatever Ashley felt for Ben is shortly extinguished; she rejects Ben’s proposal and accepts another.

What do you think? Is my assessment too harsh? We will consider more on the topic in upcoming posts.

Until then … Will Ben “find true love” the second time around? Given the drama that played out on-screen last week, will anyone care?

Current events trouble me. I find this video chilling. See what you think.

Individuals who hold elected positions — we used to call them “dignitaries” — were once deemed to deserve and be accorded with due respect … no matter their political point of view.

So it disturbs me Congressman John Lewis — an invited guest — was turned away from the event. He made the effort to come. (Whether or not his appearance was calculated for political points is irrelevant, at least to me.)

Should Cong. Lewis (because of his position) be more highly esteemed than the others assembled at Woodruff Park? Not at all, and the video shows Lewis comported himself with dignity and humility. When turned away, he didn’t express consternation or create a scene. He quietly left the venue. Though he was poorly treated, I commend his restraint.

What most troubled me was Occupy Atlanta‘s condescending approach to deliberative assemblies. Forget the mutual respect embodied within Robert’s Rules of Order. Forget as well the usual purposes for assemblies:  to inform, to foster communication, to coalesce around shared ideas and to agree upon a future course of action.

The OA website offers its notion of “participatory democracy” as a means to build “consensus” but adds:  “… in a large crowd where everyone is supposed to get a chance to be heard, deviating from it quickly causes chaos.”

Seriously? Rather than ceding a modest ten minutes for the congressman to speak, this “participatory democracy” devoted ten minutes to ruminations over whether or not Lewis (their invited guest) should be allowed to speak!!

It would be generous to characterize the exchange as debate; this was a demeaning exercise. The OA moderator addressed his listeners as if they were minimally functional nursery school children, utilizing truncated speech that was mindlessly parroted back by the crowd. Applause was discouraged in preference to “effusive hand gestures.”

The moderator reminds the assembly:  This isn’t a vote. But, express your feelings in favor of Cong. Lewis speaking. The crowd responded compliantly with effusive hand gestures. Express your feelings against Cong. Lewis speaking. Again, the crowd responded with effusive hand gestures.

Alas … there was no “consensus.” Lewis was rebuffed, meaning the second group’s effusive hand gestures had effectively outvoted the first group’s effusive hand gestures. (Oh, sorry, this wasn’t a vote, right? Yet I feel it was something akin to a vote.)

OA’s conceit of “participatory democracy” reminds me of another event. Recall (from John 18:38-39, NASB) when Pilate (having interviewed Jesus) announced to the crowd:  “I find no guilt in him.” Pilate subsequently sought the mob’s counsel on what should be done with Jesus.

Typical of a mob drinking lavishly from the intoxicating well of “participatory democracy,” they responded to Pilate:  “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (John 19:6)

Don’t be surprised if Madame Guillotine is waiting in the wings.

I purchased the book — without hesitation — based on the reputation of (and my respect for) the author, Ruth Bell Graham (late wife of Dr. Billy Graham). She is someone I’d “known” — though not via personal acquaintance — for as long as I can remember.

The book, entitled Prodigals and Those Who Love Them, offers the subtitle “Words of Encouragement for Those Who Wait.” The book’s potential drew me. With Graham as the author, I thought — hoped? — it might contain some cogent spiritual insights for this prickly — but not uncommon — parent/child quandary. My presumption was if anyone could speak with authority on the subject, it might be Graham who has long acknowledged two of her children were prodigals, what she calls “spiritual wanderers.”

I’ve listened to sermons covering the Gospel account (Luke 15:11-32) … read and studied the passage myself … read Henri Nouwen‘s The Return of the Prodigal (an introspective personal meditation that uses Luke’s account and the Rembrandt painting from which Nouwen’s book takes its name.) I wanted (needed) Graham’s perspective also.

The small volume (just over 150 pages) surprises. The first five chapters tell of five prodigals who returned to the Father. Only one chapter represents Graham lineage and that tale is written by Graham’s eldest daughter Gigi. The second section is a collection of wise words culled from poetry, hymns and quotes related to estrangement from both God and earthly bonds.

It’s difficult for me to fairly assess the book. The most penetrating words were the quote that follows the title page:

Home is that place from which

when a man has departed,

he is a wanderer until he returns.

– Sir William Blackstone

I think I may have expected too much; I’m a mom and the slightest rift in my family begs for immediate attention, healing and resolution! (Had Ruth Bell Graham avoided these crushing emotions while blithely awaiting the homecomings of her two prodigals? Not likely, but she doesn’t dwell on it.)

In Luke’s retelling of Jesus’ parable, Mom is absent. She’s not there when the tale begins:  “A certain man had two sons …” She’s not there when the father apportions inheritance to one son who hastens out the door. She most definitely isn’t present (tut-tutting her errant son) as he wallows in pig slop.

W H E R E   I S   S H E ? !

One explanation:  she’s deceased. The hyper-spiritual explanation:  she’s praying. [To borrow from SNL's Church Lady -- Now isn't that special?]

Don’t get me wrong. I’m an advocate of prayer — I believe God graciously attends our petitions. BUT, I’m a do-something — anything! – mom which probably explains more than I care to admit about this matter of waiting … in silence … swallowing my opinion … believing the prodigal will “come to his senses.” 

Jesus’ parable of the prodigal eloquently paints the beauty of Father-Son love and reconciliation. I have come to believe Jesus intended to be equally eloquent about that which He omitted.

So I wait … on Him.

I’ve come to understand Dad’s remark had less to do with a dire view of the world and more about his concern for me, his eldest daughter, and my health. Bearing four babies in less than eight years, etc. — who did I think I was? Wonder Woman? (This was before Michelle Duggar raised the motherhood bar into the stratosphere!)

At the time, though, I remember thinking:  here is a man whose first glimpse of Europe came when he was dumped (with rifle and a weighty backpack full of gear) from an amphibious landing craft into the seas (though he had never learned how to swim!) off Utah Beach on June 6, 1944. A 21 year old infantry soldier, his job with the 359th regiment meant regular trips to the front lines driving delivery trucks filled with much-needed supplies.

But when the war was over, this man came home, established a normal life and family, fathering six children (five of whom reached adulthood). The world into which he ushered all six of his offspring wasn’t much different than ours:  there were wars, sin, despicable people doing heinous acts, and yet the gift of children offered demonstrable proof of the Hope he and my mother shared.

Two unrelated items brought my dad’s comment to mind this past week and offered an occasion for reflection. The first — a celebratory event — was my younger daughter’s delivery of her third child, a daughter. We all rejoice in the arrival of VHP and anticipate a delightful future for this much-loved little one.

The second item — a snippet of time, actually — during which I happened to catch some scenes from the Daniel Craig/Liev Schreiber movie Defiance, (a film I heartily recommend.) It’s the story of a rag-tag group of Jewish non-combatants hunkered down in the forests of eastern Europe during World War II, hoping to save themselves from the death-camps.

As their numbers increase, unofficial leader Daniel Craig (Tuvia) orders:  “Pregnancies are forbidden. We cannot accommodate an infant’s needs.” In this epic struggle for survival, his diktat seems reasonable enough; Nazi soldiers scouting the forests might be alerted by an infant’s cries.

Then the unthinkable occurs:  one of the young women (raped by a Nazi prior to arriving at the forest refugee camp) delivers a baby. Tuvia is incensed by the sudden sound of this newborn’s cry. Rather than risk the safety of all, he seems bent on dispatching both mother and infant from the camp.

That’s when Lilka tells him:  “You tell us to hold on to our humanity … not to become like animals. What better way than by bringing a life into this world of suffering and death. It’s our only hope.”

Solomon reminds us “There is an appointed time for everything … a time for every event under heaven.” Welcoming a new life into this world is always a time to rejoice, and yes, we are rejoicing!