Faithchick

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

So I had an epiphany the other day at the Mongolian BBQ.  While my family ate, a sixteen year old girl had crashed her car into the side of another car and we watched as she waited for the police.  She had this vehicle all tricked out (but it was really a piece dressed up).  She had pink acrylic nails, and she carried a Coach purse from the current catalog (not that I'd know or anything).  Did I mention that she was sixteen?  Well, she was wailing, and her mom was hugging her -- and I have to say , after about 30 minutes of this -- I was annoyed.

You know, it's a car.  Your daughter's life is fine, her Coach in tact, not even a nail broken.  And Mommy is letting her wail like she's been mutilated.  Being a drama queen is not good for people in this country, and I myself am guilty.  But when I think about the children suffering in Pakistan from the earthquake, or Hurricane Katrina's victims, or the tsunami orphans, I think ENOUGH.  This country needs to wake up and realize how good we have it!

I can hear myself whining about living in the country right now, and quite frankly, I'm mortified.  So I don't mean to be a downer, but really when we step back and see it's only a junky car/sow's ear that we've make into a silk purse, the view is certainly different. 

"Be happy young man, while you are young and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth." Ecc 11: 9

www.kristinbillerbeck.com
www.girlswriteout.blogspot.com

Intensity

Life comes at you fast.  Granted, it gets faster as you get older, and I'm not sure if you're moving slower or what, but it really does move fast, and you have to make it count.  At least that's how I feel.

Deadlines loom.  As a wannabe writer, I always thought that was my dream, to be so busy, the deadlines loomed like great, dark shadows.  But as I get older, and more published, I want to be a mommy.  I want time to clean my house properly.  I want to sit at Starbucks with the girls, and chat about "The Bachelor" (and his boring choice, but I digress).

Being grateful gets more difficult as life gets busier, and as life hits you like a series of dodge balls in junior high school.  I think in the long run, it's the little things that matter.  The conversations in the grocery store, the friends who will be there for you when you're done working, and the family that puts up with a wild schedule.

I am grateful for it all -- I'm grateful my family sits down to dinner each night together, and that we all love "American Idol".  And I'm thankful I have a job I love, but you know, I never did like dodge ball, and I am advancing in years.  How about a swift game of cribbage?

Tommorow, I turn in "Calm, Cool & Adjusted" the last book in the Spa Girls series.  Then, it's back to the gym, back to the laundry and back to life!!

Faith, Froth & a Designer Handbag
www.kristinbillerbeck.com
www.girlswriteout.blogspot.com
With this Ring, I'm Confused -- WestBow Press
She's All That -- Integrity Publishers
A Girl's Best Friend -- April, 2006

The Voice of Truth

Have you ever known God was speaking to you, yet had many well-meaning friends tell you differently?  And make you question His will?  The Bible says that "Plans Fail for the lack of counsel." Pr. 15:22  But what about Job's counsel?  What about when his wife told him to "Curse God and die."  There are great Christians out there who often offer up poor advice (though maybe not that bad!) 

One of the things God told me to do was write "Facing Terror", which is the true story of Christian missionaries killed in Iraq, as told by the sole survivor, Carrie McDonnall.  I did not want to do this.  I don't even watch R-rated movies.  Heck, I can't even watch the new Star Wars movies for their violence.  I kicked and screamed about it.  In the end, when people questioned me on my "brand" and sanity.  And in fact, I did say no several times, though the publisher kept telling me I was their girl.  But worse yet, so did God.

Because of the way I write, I can close my eyes and be in that car during the attack.  My heart races when I think of David trying to get Carrie to the Iraqi hospital.  Reading through twenty journals of David McDonnall, I felt as though I lost him too, and when I met his family, I could barely contain my grief seeing his face come to life in them.

This week, Carrie sent me a scrapbook she made of letters she's received after the book and how the book has affected many.  One of them was from David's sister.  Seeing the outcome of that book, and its effect on others with Carrie's story, it just reminds me that counsel is one thing, God's voice is another.  Sometimes we just can't see the end.  "...Listen to his Voice and hold fast to him."  Dt. 30:20

Generosity

Once our basic needs are met, do you think we become less generous?  It's a thought that's been plaguing me lately.  When my husband headed up a production line in the Bay Area, he had many people at barely above minimum wage who worked for him.  At Christmas, or when we had a child, the generosity of these people went well beyond their means.  It was very hard to accept, but we soon found out, refusing was culturally unnacceptable.  So we did.

Before Christmas, I went to have a pedicure, and I wore a jacket that Cindy, my gal, went crazy for.  She wanted to buy it off me, and I told her it wasn't that expensive, and she kept trying to give me cash.  So I took the jacket off and gave it to her.  Sweet thing that she is, she gave me nail polish (the only thing she had at the time).  Well, due to deadlines, it's been a long time since I had a pedicure, and when I went back in, Cindy (nearly two months later!) had a bottle of Chanel #5 waiting for me in a crunched up gift back due to the small space it was kept in. 

"Way too much!" I told her, but she would not take it back.  But this incident has really shown me again, that the old woman in the Bible who gives everything she has?  That's how we as Christians should be.  Chanel #5! Not Love's Baby Soft (do  they still make that?) 

Doesn't that just inspire you to give something you think you can't afford to give?  God is so good, and these people who have nothing seem to rely that He will provide.  I want to be like that!

Kristin Billerbeck

Faith, Froth & A Designer Handbag

www.faithfulchick.com

Books as Hope

I'm a book addict.  Since I'm living in the middle of nowhere, the bookstore is a luxury and when I go, it costs me.  It costs me a lot.  Today, I bought a new bundle of ToBeReads.  There's nothing more exciting than to come home and pile those on my nightstand, knowing the adventure is there for the taking.  "Pick us up..." they whisper each time I go by, and each time I'm given hope to escape the mundane.

I bought ten books today.  Seven were for my mother's birthday.  (Conveniently, Sue Grafton and Patricia Cornwall both release books around her birthday, it makes life so easy, but I digress.)

My point is that sometimes hope is no more than a pile of books sitting on my nightstand.  There's nothing in those books to give me hope.  In fact, they might all stink and be a complete waste of cash.  But knowing they're there, waiting to whisk me away to another place gives me hope.

Right now, in life, I don't really see much hope which is melodramatic.  But I did write Ashley Stockingdale, so what do you expect?  I've been living another person's life for three years and I'm so anxious to "escape" and relocate, but with four kids, you can't just turn this boat around easily.   But that pile of books and His Word beside them, remind me that He has given me a hope and a future.  I just have to trust Him.

I don't mean this to be a downer -- sheesh, pass the Prozac!  But being in the midst of our trials, it's so easy to forget the past promises met. C.S. Lewis's mother said he was a cheeky little brat to raise.  Einstein couldn't tie his shoes and he cut all the sleeves off his shirts. (What mother wouldn't appreciate THAT with new clothes?)  I imagine their moms didn't hold out a lot of hope (especially when Einstein was being kicked out of high school.)

I have to remember that we don't see God's endgame.  You know how Jewish people place rocks on graves, as a rememberance?  That's what I consider my pile of books on the nightstand.  He's there.  He's got a plan.  I just don't see it right now.  I hope your view is better than mine at the moment.

Faith, Froth & a Designer Handbag
www.kristinbillerbeck.com
www.girlswriteout.blogspot.com
With this Ring, I'm Confused -- WestBow Press
She's All That -- Integrity Publishers
A Girl's Best Friend -- April, 2006

Kristin Billerbeck

Chicks and spas go together, don't we?  It's so hedonistic to purchase those brief, albeit expensive moments of calm.  Slap down your credit card, and the soothing scents of eucalyptus and ylang ylang are yours.  The obligatory trickling fountain just makes you want to exhale and forget your cares.  If only living in God's sheltering peace was so easy.  Why isn't it?  Because when you go to the spa, you make an appointment with peace, and sometimes in the busyness of the day, we forget that such an appointment is expected of us each and every morning.

One of my favorite Bible verses is "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)because that is so hard to do.  He's saying to us, "Come and rest in my Spa."  We want to run, to accomplish, to attain, and yet when my mind is overrun with thoughts and "have tos".  There's the kids' homework, the job deadlines, the soccer schedules and all that pulls us this way and that.  So much for us Marthas to accomplish, but bear in mind, that God's spa is yours for the asking.  No credit card necessary.

Kristin Billerbeck is the author of SHE'S ALL THAT and the Ashley Stockingdale series. When not writing cool books or taking care of her family, she stays on the lookout for cute handbags and other items of interest. She lives in California with her husband and children. Visit her website at www.KristinBillerbeck.com .

Kristin Billerbeck Interview

FC: Faithchicks, welcome our May Guestchick, Kristin Billerbeck, author of the Ashley Stockingdale books.Kristin, tell us a little about Ashley Stockingdale's latest adventure, WITH THIS RING I'M CONFUSED.

Ashley, is a fun-loving, but slightly warped heroine, and where there's trouble, she's usually the cause of it. But this time, she has some help with a sister-in-law that has more desire than talent as a wedding coordinator. Ashley must really question if getting married is really what she wants, after all.

FC: That butt bow thing really cracked me up. I loved how you made Ashley very human and honest. In your recent appearance on The Today Show, you described these stories as more than "a sermon in Jimmy Choos" (or something like that). What has been some of the reactions from readers to your chick lit stories?

The reactions that mean the most to me, are women reassessing the relationships they're in, and putting a godly value on them. I don't want to preach to women. I want them to have an enjoyable time with Ashley, but my passion is for women to think about their futures and be strong in who they are for Christ.

As Christian women, we can be so desirous of getting married, we miss some obvious dating warning signs. While they're reading Ashley, I just want them to have fun, but when they're thinking about boyfriends and relationships, I hope some of her mistakes will haunt young women. As for Jimmy Choos? Well, Christian girls living in the city definitely live in a different world. Fitting in can be an important part of witnessing to the outside world, but maintaining your true values in the midst of that is where the real work starts.

FC:Ashley is a patent attorney from Silicon Valley, where you lived for several years. What experiences did you have there that made you want to write this kind of story?

I was born and raised in the Bay Area, before it was called the Silicon Valley. In the shadow of Atherton and Woodside (very wealthy areas), one of the things that spoke to me, was how rich and intellectual people still do stupid things. I loved the irony of living in an area where they wouldn't kill a mountain lion in the middle of the city without a shrine to the animal. I mean, LION PEOPLE, walking near schools. (It's really rare that a healthy animal would do such a thing. Mountain Lions are very quiet creatures.)

So sometimes, there's just no common sense in intellectuals, and I can't help but see the humor in that. I love seeing PhDs dress up for a "Lord of the Rings" premiere or grown men battle it out for first place at the laser tag place. There is so much inherently funny about that, and the Silicon Valley. The IQ to EQ ratio makes me laugh.

FC: Well thanks so much for stopping by, Kristin. I had a ball reading this story and getting to know Ashley Stockingdale. I'm looking forward to THE SPA GIRLS in October as well. I hope everyone will stop by your website at http://www.faithfulchick.com and check out your books. (Cute new url by the way)