Happy Halloween

Circa 1982 (or so)

Cec And Me hosted by Twila Belk & Cecil Murphey

I'm so excited. My good friend Twila Belk has a new online radio show on Toginet.com! She and best-selling author Cecil Murphey will be on each Tuesday night at 8 PM, 7PM central LIVE. They'll be interviewing guests each week on a variety of subjects from the serious to the not-so-serious with honesty, candor and a healthy dose of humor.

This Tues (October 18th) will be an interview with Jonathan Friesen, author of the ALA award-winning book, Jerk, California. Jerk is the story of a high school senior named Sam who just happens to have Tourette's Syndrome. It is a subject Jonathan knows from the inside out as he, too, was diagnosed with TS at the age of 19. Tune in tomorrow night and hear this fascinating interview.

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

Big Stone Gap is the story trials and tribulations of Ave Maria Mulligan, a 30-something woman raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia who discovers her life and family are not what she thought they were.
Reminded me of the Mitford books with a small mountain town (dare I say "Hillbilly") sort of flavor.

Gentle humor, sweet romance, sassy women, kind and compassionate with a heroine called Ave Maria. What's not to like?

I do have to share my favorite passage in the book with you. Here goes:
"...I've made it my business to observe fathers and daughters. And I've seen some incredible things, beautiful things. Like the little girl who's not very cute--her teeth are funny, and her hair doesn't grow right, and she's got on thick glasses--but her father holds her hand and walks with her like she's a tiny angel that no one can touch. He gives her the best gift a woman can get in this world: protection. And the little girl learns to trust the man in her life. And all the things that the world expects from women--to be beautiful, to soothe the troubled spirit, heal the sick, care for the dying, send the greeting card, bake the cake--all of those things become the way we pay the father back for protecting us. It's a fair exchange..."

I like to think of myself as a strong, independent woman, but I gotta tell you, those words ring true in my heart.

Treat yourself to a sweet, funny story this fall. Get to know Ave Maria and all the quirky characters of Big Stone Gap, VA.

Cecil Murphey Talks About His Writer to Writer Blog

Levi's Will by W. Dale Cramer

Some sins follow you your whole life. Mr. Cramer’s book, "Levi’s Will", is the story of an Amish teenager who makes a mistake and spends the rest of his life wondering if it is possible to atone for some sins.

Young Will runs away at 19, escaping the control of his father Levi, who even by Amish standards exceptionally strict with his children. Leaving behind a pregnant fiancée, Will rides the rails before joining the Army during WWII, always depending on the work ethic he learned at home to help him cope with life, never learning how to trust, and how to give what he was never given growing up.

From his Amish roots, through service in the military during WWII, marriage, work and life we follow the story of Will Mullet/McGruder as he seeks to work his way to atonement. He lives a life of secrets even from those nearest and dearest to him and in the end becomes a proverb of how the sins of the father do linger on, hurting their own sons.

This is a story about the importance of family, of independence, of hard work and most of all love and forgiveness. Mr Cramer examines the relationships of fathers and sons bridging three generations.

If you like stories set in the Amish culture you will enjoy this one. Told from the masculine point of view it reveals the struggles Will faces seeking to reconcile the best of his Amish upbringing with the modern culture in which he has chosen to stay.

Hooray, It's Autumn & Hooray for AIR!

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."
George Eliot

My sentiments exactly. And on the very first day of this incredible season I find myself thanking God for something I don't think I've ever thanked Him for before--AIR.

That's right just plain old air, that invisible stuff that surrounds us each moment, that makes life possible, that most of us never, ever think about.

Thank You Lord for air--

~for the life it gives us

~for sweet breezes blowing on arms in the mornings and across faces in the cool dark of night.

~for carrying wonderful fragrances to us stirring memories and longings in hearts and minds

~for lifting kites, balloons, birds, airplanes and our spirits soaring as we see them fly.

~for fluttering flags and rustling leaves and rasping cornstalks.

Thank you Lord for air.

1 Chronicles 16:34 (New King James Version)
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

P.S. Just found a really pertinent Facebook page if you'd like to check it out
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thank-You-Lord-for-this-air-I-breathe-/119753944703018?v=wall

How cool is that?

A "Wordless Wednesday" Post of Family Pictures

http://2010withrickgailsmith.shutterfly.com/july/215