Faithchick

I love Christmas Movies!

I love Christmas movies! I don't care if I have seen them a gazillion times, there are some movies that I absolutely will not miss. And for some reason, watching the DVD isn't the same as finding them in the TV Guide. I'll say to my husband in the morning, "Guess what's on TV tonight????" Then at the appropriate time, I'll park myself in front of the television and munch on fudge and Christmas cookies while we watch. There's something special about knowing thousands of other people are watching the same movie at the same time. It's like something we share, and it makes the moment more special.

(Sometimes my husband watches willingly. Other times he must be 'gently' reminded that it's Christmas, and it's his sworn duty to watch Christmas movies with his wife.)

The Christmas television season gets kicked off with the first showing of, "Miracle on 34th Street." The old version, with Natalie Wood and Maureen O'Hara. That's usually shown sometime during Thanksgiving weekend. And of course I absolutely must see "A Christmas Carol" at least a half-dozen times. There are dozens of versions, but my favorites are the old 1951 version with Alistair Sim, and the one with George C. Scott. Awesome! (I watched a couple of "updated" versions within the past week with women in the lead role, and I'm sorry, but it's just not the same.)

The movies don't have to be classics, though. I adore the Hallmark channel during the month of December, because they run a heart-warming (and often romantically sappy) Christmas movie almost every night. I watched one with Kristin Chenowyth the other day, and then one with Gary Sinise the next night. And then Mrs. Miracle, based on a story by Debbie Macomber. I love them! One of my favorite modern movies is, "The Family Man" with Nicholas Cage and Tea Leoni. Wonderful!

But my all-time favorite Christmas movie ever is Dr. Seuss's, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." The original cartoon version, not the Jim Carey remake. (Though that one is good, too, but it is a totally different experience from the original!) I have watched that movie so often I can quote it word-for-word, and sing every song note-for-note. My cell phone ring tone during December is, "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch." It drives my husband crazy! All I have to do to get a rise out of him is start: "Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot. But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not!" He rolls his eyes and covers his ears and shouts, "Stop! Stop! I can't take it anymore!" What would Christmas be if I couldn't quote the Grinch at my husband? :-)

You know why I like Christmas movies so much? Because they always -- always -- show people's heart's changing. Do you know what changes people's hearts? It's the selfless love of a Father who would send His only Son to die in order to save a world full of people in need. At Christmastime, we stop focusing on ourselves and look around, and we're not afraid to reach out a hand to someone else. That's God's love in action, and I like watching it happen. Yes, I know most movies are fiction, but sometimes fiction can open our eyes to see things, and people, we might not see otherwise.

Have a Merry Christmas!

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Virginia Smith, author of the Sister-to-Sister Series, is about to celebrate the release of her tenth novel, Third Time's a Charm. Read about her books, and enter a Prize Bonanza Giveaway at www.VirginiaSmith.org

Cold Weather, Warm Heart

Winter has hit hard in the North Country.  I grew up in North Dakota, 40 miles from the Canadian border, where the temperature is always 10-20 degrees colder than where I live now in balmy Minnesota.  Believe it or not, we used to travel north to Canada every January.  One year it was -50 degrees.  When you take in the wind chill factor, it was -100 degrees (yes, minus 100!) 

 

I think that is part of what made me a writer.  What other job could I do that allows me not to leave the house for six months at a time?    (Unless I really want to, of course.)  This weather always makes me grateful for a warm home, a reliable car and a freshly charged cell phone.  Oh, yes, and silky long johns!

 

So wherever you are—even if you put Christmas lights on your palm trees—keep your hearts warm this blessed holiday season.

 

Judy Baer

Crazy Christmas

There's nothing like the holidays to bring about chaos.  Last year was spent taking my daughter to the hospital.  Twice.  Once on Christmas morning.  It was a long twelve days of fear and frustration as doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with her.  After the ordeal was over, I remember thinking, "If all we have is our good health next year, that is enough."

Those words came back to haunt me this year when our pipes froze, our laundry room drain got backed up and flooded the laundry room and our washer leaked and flooded my daughter's room.  All on the same day.

So.  We have our health but not the good luck of appliances and drains working as normal.  So I'm thinking, "Man, next year if our house doesn't flood and our carpet doesn't mold, that is enough."  But I can't get rid of that nagging fear...what's going to happen next year??

I guess for most of my life I've felt like when the lights go up, the temperatures cool down, hot chocolate is served and families gather to show love, all the problems of life should halt...just for a moment.

And I suppose I've always had, in the back of my head, a little bit of an expectation that God sending His son to earth would do the same thing.    But I know better.  Still, why am I so surprised when problems come?  And why is my first reaction to cower in fear rather than to go to the throne of the Almighty?

My husband wrote a great lyric to a song he composed years ago called "The Birthday Song."  It said, "They don't understand how a little baby boy holds me in His hands."

I am held in His hands, and that is the miracle of Christmas.   The truth and the reality of this fallen world is that problems will come.  And God often shows His love, and His great power, by allowing His children to walk through the storms of life.  It is the very problem of sin that caused God to send His only Son to save us.

So, if you're like me, and the holiday often bring more trials and tribulation than  it seems worth...and if you're discouraged, take heart.  You are loved by God.  You are saved from your sin.  You are celebrated and cherished and held in God's mighty hands.

And that will always be enough.

Merry Christmas to you all. 

Rene and family  (pre-house flooding disaster.  I'm looking way more haggard now...)

www.renegutteridge.com
look for LISTEN from Tyndale House, coming in February!

The Sweet By and By is in the house!

Finally! A year after working on this book, it's here, at my house, in my hands!

And it's gorgeous.

Hard back, casebound, (no jacket) it's a tall, sleek book with Sara's beautiful self on the back.

The book officially releases January 5, but friends, it's out NOW! Order it off Amazon, or go to your local book stores and see if you can buy a copy.

I even bought one! A local book store manager is a friend and she emailed me the moment the books came in! So I ran over and bought a copy.

I love investing in myself, my projects.

This is a mother-daughter story. One of reckoning with the past in order to understand the present and embrace the future. While we all have various degrees of trial in our lives -- past, present and most assuredly the future -- it's important to let go of our wounds and pain, and lean into Jesus.

That's what Jade must learn in order to truly love the man she's about to marry.

It's an intriguing journey with flashbacks to Jade's younger years. You really get to know her and her Mama.

And her little sister Willow! Cracked me up. Still does.

This is a book you must have. Not only is the story heartwarming, but the presentation is just beautiful.

Best Selling and award winning author Rachel Hauck lives in central Florida with her husband. She is a graduate of the Ohio State Univerisity and has traveled internationally as a software trainer.

But, writing is her love, and she hopes to spread the fragrance of Jesus with her words.

Her current release Love Starts With Elle from Thomas Nelson is a 2009 RITA Finalist. Her book Sweet Caroline was American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year 2009. Her next release, "The Sweet By and By" with platinum selling country artist Sara Evans releases January 2010. Check out all of her books and musings on her web site at www.rachelhauck.com. 

Tis the Season

I know this is a crazy busy time of year, but I have to say I love every aspect of it. The frosty weather, the frenzied shopping, the happy music, the baking, the hum of chatter when family gets together, and the spirit of the season

Now, I'm aware that not everyone gets into the Christmas season,  but it's so cool to be around people who do. You ever notice they have an extra kick in their step and smiles on their faces? Yeah, yeah, I know there are those who are just plain kicking, but hear me out. There are STILL people who get into the spirit of the season.

Case in point. My daughter told me she was at Starbucks the other day and when she pulled up to the drive-thru window to pay for her drink, the worker told her that her drink had been paid for by the driver ahead of her. In fact, he said each car had been paying for the car behind it for the last six cars! Well, of course, she couldn't break the chain, so she paid for the car behind her, so we have no idea how long the chain kept going! Cool, huh?

So the next time you see someone with that bah humbug look, spread the joy! Get them into the spirit of the season! After all, spreading the love is what Jesus is all about!

From my house to yours, Merry Christmas!!--Diann Hunt

Style

Camy here! Recently I’ve been working on my personal style.

This has mostly been instigated by the book, Women, Work, and the Art of Savoir Faire by Mireille Guiliano, the author of the book French Women Don’t Get Fat (which I loved).

Mireille’s Savoir Faire book is mostly for businesswomen, but I’ve found it useful to help me understand how to present myself in my work and create a stronger impression. Not all of it is applicable to me, but it’s mostly pretty useful.

The first thing I did was get my hair cut and styled, and while I like how it looks now, in order for it to look that good every day, I have to spend TWENTY MINUTES DOING MY HAIR. For a wash-and-go girl, this is torture.

So, I don’t do my hair every day, just the days when I have to see more people than my husband and the mailman.

I’m also experimenting with different perfumes to figure out what I like. I took a poll on Twitter a while ago and got some suggestions. I’m intending to go stalk the counters at Nordstrom’s and Macy’s to nab some free samples.

I’ve also been looking at my wardrobe, and realizing that a lot of what I have has been influenced by my husband and my mother.

My husband’s taste is a bit bland. My mother’s isn’t bad, but just different.

I am realizing that I like frilly. I like PINK. I like French style.

So I have culled tops from my wardrobe that I don’t absolutely love and donated them to Salvation Army. I have also gotten rid of any bottoms that don’t fit or that are too old, style-wise—I had several that were 10 years old, when waists were higher than they are now.

My closet is still depressingly FULL, but at least it’s not overflowing. :)

So now I’m on the lookout for tops that will be my own style—things that both appeal to me and don’t make me look fat. Oh, and which won’t make my husband walk on the other side of the street from me.

I’m also thinking of sprucing up some old, plain tops with lace. Still thinking over that one.

So how about you? Ready for a fluffing up of your own personal style?

Camy Tang lives in San Jose, California. She previously worked in biology research, she is a staff worker for her church youth group, and she runs the Story Sensei critique service. Her humorous romance, Single Sashimi, and her romantic suspense, Deadly Intent, are both out now. She also gives away Christian fiction on her blog and her newsletter YahooGroup.

Which Bible Character are you?

No, it's not a Facebook quiz, but a legitimate question.  There are very few characters in the Bible who do right, who act perfectly, who might have gotten into heaven by their own good works (if that were a possibility.)  God uses the failings of man in the Bible so that we might see ourselves in humility and ask for God to cover our sins -- even the ones we fight for a lifetime.

An example:  I know a woman who is very Martha in attributes.  It is very easy for her to put together a perfect spread that everyone will compliment -- to open her clean home and send out beautiful invitations for the soiree.  However, it is not easy for her to sit and talk with her guests.  She wants to manipulate them and guide the conversations -- in other words, she wants to have her guests scheduled on her time frame.

Whereas, for me to have a party -- that's easy.  But I might forget to put out the napkins because I'm Mary.  I want to be in on everything and hear what everyone is up to, how they're doing, what they're doing, etc.  I'm reminded of King David's words, "I will not offer to the Lord that which cost me nothing." 

So that's the rub, isn't it?  It's not enough for me to be Mary.  For God, I need to have some of Martha in me and feed my guests.  It's not enough to have Paul's knowledge of Scripture and not have Peter's passion.  We're all born with a certain bent and naturally, our ministries will utilize our natural gifts, but in those areas of struggle, we must try to see our opposite Bible character.  What can we learn from them?

www.KristinBillerbeck.com

Author of "What a Girl Wants" and coming soon, "Perfectly Dateless".

She lives in the Silicon Valley with her husband and four children -- and a Mary house.

What God had in Mind

Have you ever prayed a prayer like this? "Oh God give me a disease that causes constant pain and take away every material thing I own." 

Sounds so out there doesn't it? We pray for God to provide, that he would change our hearts that we could draw closer to him. Good prayers I suppose, but very different from the way they prayed in the middle ages. 

In this book I am reading Water from a Deep Well, Gerald L. Sittser traces the history of Christian Spirituality. In the middle ages, there was a Christian mystic who prayed that God would give her a disease so that she might more closely identitfy with the suffering of Christ. Also as the merchant class started to gain power and wealth, there were people who gave away everything and pursued poverty in order to grow closer to God and do his will. Pursue poverty. It's sounds so Unamerican, doesn't it? 

I don't know what all this means and I still can't bring myself to pray that God would give me a disease. I can't help but think that I don't much identify with Jesus when I get a little miffed because I couldn't have my morning cup of coffee right away. Yes, I know it was a different world back then blah blah blah. In this day and age, we are so interested in our own comfort and I am wondering how we could possibly understand what happened on the cross and what it meant. We say we want to draw closer to God, but all we do and all we desire might be increasing the distance between saved and Savior.

As I said in other posts, I am on a journey to separate out American Christian culture from being simply a follower of Christ. It grosses me out when wealth and worldly success are linked to being spiritually mature. I know that much. I don't know how to fix it, but I just think we are missing the mark. Capitalism and Christianity have gotten all mixed up in our minds. Those Christian books with those well dressed good looking people on them telling you that you  can be a big time success, I don't know if that is what God had in mind when he watched his son suffocate on a cross.  

Sharon Dunn is working on a romantic suspense and sorting through life. You can read more about Sharon and her books at www.sharondunnbooks.com.      

Abundance

I learned something the other day I think is interesting. In the Bible, the book of John describes Jesus' first recorded miracle -- turning water into wine. The apostle tells us that Jesus instructed the servants to fill six stone jars with water, and goes on to describe the jars. They were the kind used for ceremonial washing, and each one held between 20 and 30 gallons. It makes sense that there would be plenty of water for washing, since it was a big social gathering. So, let's do a bit of calculating. We'll be conservative in our estimates.

6 jugs x 20 gallons = 120 gallons of water

Now, I happen to know a winemaker who makes wine on a small scale. He tells me that one batch of wine is about 6 gallons, and from that, he gets around 30 bottles of wine. Back to the calculator.

120 gallons of water / 6 gallons = 20 batches

20 batches * 30 bottles = 600 bottles

Jesus gave that couple the equivalent of six hundred bottles of wine! Wow. Now, I think the number and size of the jugs were recorded in the Gospel of John for a reason. It's to illustrate a very simple point: when Jesus gives, He gives in abundance. No barely squeaking by with our Lord! He gives over and beyond our expectations. Don't you just love that about Him?

During this Christmas season when we give to others to celebrate the birth of the Christ child, may we remember the abundant generosity of our Savior.

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Virginia Smith, author of the Sister-to-Sister Series, is about to celebrate the release of her tenth novel, Third Time's a Charm. Read about her books, and enter a Prize Bonanza Giveaway at www.VirginiaSmith.org

Baby, it's beginning to look like Christmas!

 

My tree is up and despite my love for this holiday and fascination with the beauty of houses and yards alive with light, my decorating pretty much begins and ends with the tree.

I don't have a lot of other decoration and am not inclined to take apart the house to spread them around if I did.

I have a baby tree for my office, and a few candles and odds and ends, but that's it. When I was a teen, I begged my dad to get a Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving, but he grew up in a house where the tree appeared on Christmas Eve after he and his brothers had gone to bed.

So, I bought my own mini-itty-bitty tree from Publix and put it up in my room on Thanksgiving day. Where there's a will, there's a way.

What about you, what Christmas traditions do  you have? Are they different from the ones you had growing up? I loved Christmas movies then, love them now. My mom made cookies, but I don't follow that tradition. With it only being hubby and me, I don't want a plethora of iced cookies sitting around.

I love to give gifts. I'd give to everyone from immediate family to extended to friends if I could afford it. Do you like the gift traditions.

Well, enjoy this first week of December. Be sure to stop by my Facebook Birthday Party next Monday, the 7th at 8:00 EST.

Best Selling and award winning author Rachel Hauck lives in central Florida with her husband. She is a graduate of the Ohio State Univerisity and has traveled internationally as a software trainer.

But, writing is her love, and she hopes to spread the fragrance of Jesus with her words.

Her current release Love Starts With Elle from Thomas Nelson is a 2009 RITA Finalist. Her book Sweet Caroline was American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year 2009. Her next release, "The Sweet By and By" with platinum selling country artist Sara Evans releases January 2010. Check out all of her books and musings on her web site at www.rachelhauck.com.