>As I might have mentioned earlier, my “best of” lists include mostly books that were published in 2009. However, by my own rules, they qualify if I first read them this year, and I want to give them their due praise. There were a LOT of great books in 2009, but even as I looked back, there were four that …
>CAFE SPECIAL OF THE WEEK – Crockpot Chicken W/ Chiles, Cheese, & Chips
>Have you planned your New Year’s Eve menu yet? Having folks over to watch the big games on New Year’s Day? This crock pot winner will give you plenty of time to have fun with the family and still get kudos from the kids and/or your guests. My FaceBook friend, Therese Fowler, says this is one of their family favorites …
>IMMANUEL . . . God With Us
>BLESSINGS TO ALL OF YOU – friends, loved ones, and faithful blog readers. May you receive all the best from God above and join in celebration of the birth of the Christ child. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
>TEN GREAT BOOKS I’VE READ THIS YEAR
>My reading pile has grown and grown and now is stacked two deep and spilling over on two shelves. Some of the books I read this year didn’t necessarily have a 2009 release date, but this is the year I read them, so my rule is . . . if I read it this year, it qualifies. There are so …
>CAFE SPECIAL OF THE WEEK – Poor Man’s Millionaires
> Can’t afford designer chocolates? (And who can at this time of year?) No time for time-consuming candy-making extravaganzas? Then, here’s a deal for you. THREE ingredients. Less than 30 minutes. No mixing. And everyone loves these bite-sized gooey chocolate treats with just the right crunch. Poor Man’s Millionaires Bag of mini-pretzels (knots) Bag of Rolo candies Pecan halves (one …
>TOP FIVE INSPIRATIONAL DEBUT NOVELS OF 2009
>I am fortunate to be sharing my writing journey with other authors whose first novels released this year. Although I’m not personally acquainted with all the debut authors on this list, I’ve been entertained with a great variety of inspirational fiction. These ladies have set the bar high for me and others trying to break into the magical world of …
>CAFE SPECIAL OF THE WEEK – Sugar Cookies for Christmas
> It’s not to late to get in some Christmas baking! My good friend and awesome writer – Camille Eide – took time from her hectic schedule to whip up a batch of these for her family and allowed me to share her sugar cookie recipe. They sound delicious and may be just the thing you’ve been looking for to …
>CAFE SPECIAL OF THE WEEK – Peppernuts
>When our boys were small, we moved back to my husband’s childhood community, about half of which were German Mennonites. Max didn’t grow up in their church, but remembered that the people who went there were loving, generous people who lived out their faith as neighbors. One day soon after we’d moved in, someone called and invited our boys to …
>The Christmas Spirit
>I’m the first to admit, the Christmas spirit is a little slow in making its appearance around here. I’m consumed with me-isms—my book promotion, my next project, my responsibilities to the writing groups I belong to, my blog posts, my email. It’s no wonder I feel like such a Scrooge. When we see only ourselves and the urgencies around us, …
>’TIS THE SEASON
>Christmas always seems to sneak up on me. It’s not like I haven’t seen the decorations out in the store since Halloween or noticed how fat our daily newspaper has become with ads for the best bargains of the year. I have noticed and have chosen to shut myself off from the world. Hid behind my computer screen and surfed …