Shepherds and Kings by Carole Towriss

Today we welcome Carole Towriss, whom I was blessed to meet last year at a writing conference.

Carole Towriss grew up in beautiful San Diego, California. Now she and her husband live just north of Washington, DC. In between making tacos and telling her four children to pick up their shoes for the third time, she reads, writes, watches chick flicks and waits for summertime to return to the beach. She is the author of biblical novels In the Shadow of Sinai and By the Waters of Kadesh. She also writes for Christ to the World Ministries. You can find her at www.CaroleTowriss.com.

My heater died yesterday (Thursday). The bad news is, they can’t get a new part until Monday, and it’s supposed to snow on Sunday. The good news is, we have two units: one for the main floor and basement, and one for the upstairs, so we won’t freeze. We even lost power once, and with all six of us in one room we were fine.

This has made me very thankful for the comfortable circumstances in which we live. By any standard of comparison, most of us in America are extraordinarily blessed. Not all the world sleeps so snug each night.

I’ve only visited a few countries on this planet, all far less developed than ours, including Kazakhstan to adopt our kids. People wonder why I’ve never been to London, or Paris, but it’s just never worked out that way. I keep ending up in places of great poverty and need. Most times a flush toilet was a luxury. I remember once in Nias, Indonesia, which was devastated by the tsunamis of 2004-05, I was relieving myself and thinking, “This is the nicest squatty potty I have ever been in.” In Bosnia, a year after the war ended, they still had running water only a few hours a day. They filled empty coke bottles to have water for the rest of the day. Three of our children are adopted from Kazakhstan. The oldest was fed formula only once a day. The other times she was given diluted mashed potatoes.

But these are exactly the circumstances into which Jesus entered our world. He was born to a teenage girl, and laid in a manger. Worshiped by shepherds—among the lowliest of peoples. He wasn’t born in the Washington DC of his time, or even the Moscow or Beijing. His birth wasn’t announced on CNN or Fox. The news was sent to the homeless, the drug addicts. The people whom few would believe when they spread the word.

Jesus came to those who were aware of their need for His love and acceptance, His healing and provision. He came to those who knew there were great gaps in their lives. The rich and powerful—and comfortable—rarely acknowledge a need for anything, and in extreme cases, like Herod’s, will try to destroy anyone who finds them lacking anything rather than admit it.

This Christmas, and all year long, may we strive to be more like shepherds than kings. Thankful for what we have, aware of what we need, accepting of what He offers.

Carole's links:

·                     http://caroletowriss.com/

·                     Facebook

·                     Twitter

·                     Pinterest

What a poignant reminder of how blessed we are. Thanks for joining me here today, Carole.

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Blessings,

Dealing with Loss without Losing the Season by Jennifer Hallmark

Today we welcome Jennifer Hallmark. She has given me permission to link to a post she wrote on another blog. I'm blessed to call her my friend.

Check it out. It's very helpful if you're dealing with the loss of a loved one.

Jennifer Hallmark is a writer by nature, artist at heart, and daughter of God by His grace. She loves to read detective fiction from the Golden Age, watch movies like LOTR, and play with her two precious granddaughters. At times, she writes.

She will be published in early 2014 in a multi-authored Romantic Comedy novella for Valentine’s Day called A Dozen Apologies. Her website is http://www.jenniferhallmark.com  and she shares a writer’s reference blog with friends, Christina, John, Ginger, Dicky, and Betty, http://writingpromptsthoughtsideas.blogspot.com.

Dealing with Loss without Losing the Season
by Jennifer Hallmark

Christmas can be a time of great joy or great despair. The holiday season might be packed with activities or spent alone. Circumstances, especially when it comes to loss, whether a loved one, a job, or something personal, can devastate you and pull the life right out of the holidays. From personal experience, I’ve often had to come to a point and make a decision as to how I’ll spend the holidays. It was my choice. Do I celebrate Christmas or despise the holidays?

When facing loss and the holidays, several things enabled our family to enjoy this time to the best of our ability.

(1) We looked at our Christmas traditions and decided what to keep and what to change. Especially in the case of a loved one who has passed away, old traditions can be too hard to bear. After my husband’s mother died, we changed the way we exchanged presents and started a new tradition. We incorporated a game and that small variation helped each of us cope during our regular Christmas Eve celebration.

To read the rest of Jennifer's post, please visit Writing Prompts & Thoughts & Ideas...Oh My!

In addition to her website and Writing Prompts, Jennifer can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Just over a week, and a few more posts to enter into the New Year Giveaway. Learn more here.

Blessings,

A Taste of Bavarian Christmas by Jo Grafford

Today, we welcome Jo Grafford as she acquaints us with Christmas in Germany.

Jo Grafford is from St. Louis, Missouri. An award-winning author at Astraea Press, Jo writes historical fiction to spotlight unsung heroes and unsolved mysteries. She published her first poem in junior high, edited her high school newspaper while typesetting for a local news journal, and has been writing ever since.  She holds an M.B.A. and has served as a banker, a junior college finance instructor, and a high school business teacher. She is a PRO member of Romance Writers of America and From the Heart Romance Writers RWA Chapter.  The mother of three children and the wife of a soldier, she serves as a literacy volunteer for elementary school students.

A Taste of Bavarian Christmas

By Jo Grafford

When my family and I first arrived to Germany last summer – compliments of U.S. Army Europe – our new friends and neighbors were already anticipating the upcoming holiday season in Bavaria. World famous Christmas markets opened their doors at the end of November and began displaying their spectacular arrays of gifts, foods, and games. Our kiddos picked up quite a cultural education as we browsed over tables of Nutcracker smoker figurines, windmill Pyramids, hand-crafted and repurposed wine barrel furniture, Polish pottery, and – our most favorite display – the Black Forest cuckoo clocks.

Mmm… We are still new to the area, but already I’m convinced there’s nothing that can warm you better on a frosty afternoon of Christmas shopping than a grilled sausage served steaming hot on a Brötchen (German for “little bread”). Unlike my favorite puffy yeast dinner rolls served back home in the States, the Brötchen are known for their crispy firm outer crusts. Afterwards, my family likes to polish off our lunch with Nutella crepes for dessert, poured out by local chefs on wide stainless steel grills and made to order on the spot. Also a big favorite is a German donut called a Kirchweihnudel, which I think tastes like a variation of the American funnel cake – topped with powdered sugar, of course! Another tasty option is the display of hard-baked gingerbread cookies hanging by ribbons from kiosk awnings. You can purchase them in all shapes and sizes, to include gingerbread houses this time of year, and add customized words in icing.

Not just at Christmas time, but all year long, there’s a German Bäckerei (bakery) on nearly every corner. Purchasing loaves of sandwich bread to consume throughout the week is a very American practice. The Germans prefer to walk or bike daily to their favorite Bäckerei to purchase fresh Brötchen, pastries, and soft pretzels. Trust me, the winter season does not slow the traffic to the bakeries one bit. The owners just add cookie wreaths to their windows and a cinnamon stick to your mug of hot cider when you pay them a visit.

I would be completely remiss if I failed to give a shout out to the amazing chocolate sold in Bavaria, particularly at Christmastime. My youngest child is an enormous fan of the wildly popular Kinder Eggs. Not only do most kiddos love the chocolate outer shell, but they go completely nutso over the toy hidden inside once they break open the egg.

Ritter bars are also the rave over here – with peppermint serving as a fun holiday flavor. I like them – no complaints – but the chocolate that completely holds my taste buds captive is the Triolade bar made my Milka. Picture this: a dark chocolate bottom layer, a smooth white chocolate middle layer, topped with creamy milk chocolate triangles. Sigh… The bar breaks off in triply stacked triangles and ushers in a whole new dimension of holiday festivities in your mouth!

Okay, I’ve shared several of mine from Bavaria. What is your favorite taste at Christmastime?

Back Cover: 

A cursed island, a chilling conspiracy, and an unforgettable love story. The 115 colonists on Roanoke Island couldn’t GPS, skype or twitter their ultimate destination back to their families and friends in 16th Century England. But modern laser technology has finally uncovered a clue - hidden beneath a patch on an ancient map at the British museum - that leads us to their whereabouts. Considered “lost” for centuries, these brave pioneers finally reveal the rest of their story in...THE LOST COLONY SERIES.

Rose Payne's world is shattered after a secret betrothal to the duke’s son gets her dismissed from her position as clerk in his father's household. Without a letter of recommendation from her previous employer, Rose is virtually unhireable and becomes an easy target for recruiters to the Colonies. Desperate for work, she signs up for a risky overseas venture and sails for the New World, hoping for a fresh start and vowing to never again fall for a wealthy, titled gentleman.

Returning from a diplomatic tour in London, Chief Manteo is bewitched by the fiery-haired ship’s clerk and determined to overcome her distrust. He contrives a daring plan to win her heart – one that forces her, honor bound, to serve as a slave to his tribe – a plan he prays will protect her from a chilling conspiracy involving murder, blood money, and a betrayal of their fledgling colony so terrifying it can only be revealed in Breaking Ties. 

Breaking Ties can be found at:

Amazon
Barnesand Noble
Smashwords 
iBooks 
Astraea Press 

            Jo can be found at the following places on the Web:

Website 

Facebook 
Twitter: @jografford

Goodreads 

Google+: 

YouTube book trailer 

Thanks for joining us today, Jo. 

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Blessings,