RockTheDesert

Bittersweet Giveaway Hooray!

We're in business people - the Bittersweet Giveaway has officially kicked off today - hooray! The prize is sweet and simple: A signed (by Shauna) copy of "Bittersweet" AND an amazing 8-piece box of handmade Jessica Foster Confections.

This post has 3 sections - please read each section thoroughly before proceeding to the next section.

Section 1: Bittersweet Review

Bittersweet is a brilliantly penned, painfully beautiful glimpse into Shauna Niequist’s personal journey through a bittersweet season of life. I purposely slowed down to read this book, taking time to savor the words on the page, willing myself to remember the poignant moments she shares with great candor, at times laugh-out-loud humor, and surprising vulnerability. I appreciate her willingness to share personal experiences, both bitter and sweet and the way she masterfully weaves in faith, hope and grace for the moment and for the season. I’m not sure why Shauna’s writing resonates so deeply within me - by the end of the book (which ended too soon) I felt like I had been on a sacred pilgrimage alongside Shauna, through the ups and downs, the joys and sorrows, the bitter and the sweet, and I felt her words, metaphors, and stories resonate with my own life experiences deeply and personally, leaving me with new truths to ponder and  new grace to live in. If I had to choose a favorite chapter, it would be an entirely new chapter made up of favorite quotes from every chapter!

Section 2: Bittersweet Excerpt - just one more tiny little taste!

From the chapter titled Love Song For Fall. "...Fall is harvest, when we're getting all the good stuff that someone took the time to plant many months ago. Someone planted it, and now we benefit from it. And that's how it is when we make art. We struggle and push and plant seeds deep underground, and it doesn't look like much for a while. But then someone comes along and listens to your song or sees your painting or reads your poem, and they feel alive again, like the world is fresh and bursting, just like harvest. Plant something today that will feed someone many months or many years from now. Plant something today, because you've feasted on someone else's carefully planted seeds, seeds that bloomed into nourishment and kept you alive and wide-eyed. Use what you have, use what the world gives you. Use the first day of fall: bright flame before winter's deadness; harvest; orange, gold, amber; cool nights and the smell of fire. Our tree-lined streets are set ablaze, our kitchens filled with the smells of nostalgia: apples bubbling into sauce, roasting squash, cinnamon, nutmeg, cider, warmth itself. The leaves as they spark into wild color just before they die are the world's oldest performance art, and everything we see is celebrating one last violently hued hurrah before the black and white and silence of winter. Fall is begging for us to dance and sing and write with just the same drama and blaze..."

Section 3: Bittersweet Giveaway - pay attention, here come the details!

a) Answer the following question by leaving a comment on this blog or on Facebook: "What is one thing you believe you can "plant" or create or do or be? It can be something you're not currently doing but secretly dream of doing one day. The one thing that makes you come alive and "spark into wild color." If you can't think of anything, just say Zumba. We'll all understand!

b) Feel free to Twitter about this giveaway - if you do, DM me and I'll make sure your name goes in 2 more times (@berryman)

c) Last comment will be accepted at 9:00PM PST on August 23. I will announce the winner on August 24. "Bittersweet" and Jessica Foster Confections will be mailed to the winner!

d) The not-so-fine-print: I did not purchase the copy of "Bittersweet" to be given away - it is being provided by Zondervan for this giveaway in exchange for my unbiased review of the book. However, I love Jessica Foster Confections and will be providing that portion of the giveaway!

Bittersweet Giveaway Tomorrow!

I'm starting to get really excited about the Bittersweet (by Shauna Niequist) Giveaway that begins tomorrow (August 18) on this very blog. I do believe that it is my first giveaway. I've entered plenty of giveaways (mostly at The Pioneer Woman) and have not even come close to winning. I have a feeling that I won't have 27,854 comments/entries like PW does. I'm thinking we'll be in the "under 20,000 entries" range. So, if you're shy about trying for the prize, don't be - the winner of a signed copy of Bittersweet along with a box of handmade truffles from Jessica Foster Confections truly could be you!

Today's excerpt from Bittersweet is from the chapter titled Things I Don't Do. I thought I'd give you just a taste of things that Shauna does do - I'm skipping around a bit, don't want to blurt out the entire list. I'm inspired to make my own list after reading through hers. Much more helpful to me than the list of Things I Do - that list used to be sort of out of control, is getting better, but I really want to challenge you and me to make our own list of "Things I Don't Do!"

"...above all else, I try to keep my faith in Christ at the very center of my life, the heart and source of everything. I trust God's voice as my guide and Christ as my comforter. I pray, Practice confession and forgiveness, and I seek to see the world through the eyes of its Creator, believing everything can be redeemed. I'm a part of my church community, volunteering on its behalf, and working to make a better city and a better world because of our church community...I work hard to become a better writer with each page. I want to tell the truth as best I can, to tell the story of God and who he is and what he does, both through the way I write and the way I live...I live in daily, honest, intimate community with a small group of people. I give my time and energy and prayer to my immediate family and close friends. To a slightly wider circle of people, I give them my love and friendship through intermittent emails and very occasional visits..."

Come back tomorrow for the Bittersweet Giveaway - hope you win!

Bittersweet Giveaway This Week!

Let me just tell you some really good news - this could be your lucky week - really, it could be so great if you were to: 1) read my official, *starred*, succinctly-written, un-biased review of Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist, to be posted on Wednesday, August 18 AND if, after reading the review, you were to, say; 2) LEAVE A COMMENT on my blog (I will, of course, post a must-answer-question); 3) IF, after leaving a comment, your name were to be selected by some random method (tbd), you might just be the lucky recipient of: a) A signed (by Shauna, not me) copy of Bittersweet; and b) A box of Jessica Foster Confections, which are handmade in Santa Barbara, CA...mmm, divineness in a box!

Here's an excerpt from Bittersweet - I'll post another excerpt tomorrow (Tuesday) then come back Wednesday to leave a comment and we'll just see who wins this scrumptious prize! (P.S., giveway will run from Aug 18 - Aug 23, winner announced on Aug 24!)

From the chapter titled Ravenous "...I'd like to host a dinner party every other day. I think life is delicious, and I want to gobble it up in big bites, eating, drinking, reading, talking, traveling - everything. I want everything. I'm hungry for everything, all the time. Bookstores make me ravenous, as do city streets and airports and glossy fashion magazines. So much to see, taste, touch, try, do. I can feel myself come to life, eyes open, taking everything in, fingers running over textures, ears pricked for sounds. I feel like life is so genuinely interesting, that there's so much to be tasted and tried and discovered.

I love it when a day's activities stack up on top of each other perfectly, from breakfast to work to lunch to grocery shopping to coffee, all the way through till I fall into bed. I love days when you're always leaving something early to arrive just a touch late at the next place, like pearls on a string or Tarzan swinging on vines, feet never touching the ground.

Or really, I love the idea of that way of living, so I sign myself up for it every change I get. And then I realize in the moment that it isn't what I wanted at all. After a while, I'm frantic and tired and not really listening when people are talking. I'm frazzled and frustrated that Henry doesn't want to get in the car again, but of course he doesn't. Why would he want to get dragged around on the crazy whirlwind that I think will keep me happy? I've been around this block a thousand times. I'm ravenous, and life looks to me so sparkly and beautiful, waiting to be devoured like a perfect apple. So I say yes, yes to everything, to that meal and that event and that trip and that person. It's so delicious, and I don't want to miss out on even one moment of it. And that's the point; I miss all sort of sacred and significant moments, because of my frantic insistence that I can do it all, and that I don't have to miss anything..."

Last of Summer

I just finished reading "The Kitchen Sink" on Shauna Niequist's excellent blog.  She is one of my favorite authors (Cold Tangerines & **Bittersweet) and I always look forward to her blog posts showing up in my Google Reader. Shauna meanders through several topics (thus the title) before landing on this question: What’s on your “must-do-before-summer’s-over” list?

Honestly, I hadn't really thought much about this list - living in Phoenix, we just pray to stay hydrated and air-conditioned for another day during the long, nearly unbearable summer. However, I can appreciate the question and it really made me pause to think through things I'd like to accomplish over the next two months as summer slowly, but surely, starts to dissipate, leaving us with an incredible fall, winter and spring.

I came up with 7 items for my list. I'm sure there's many more, but I don't want to think that hard today.

1. I got my hair cut last week for the first time since December. Ashley (Mood Swings Salon) took the time to twist my hair into manageable curls before popping me under the hair dryer. I am beginning to understand why my grandma went to the beauty parlor every Friday to get her hair set for the week. That concept really needs to come back in to vogue. I am lame-o when it comes to dealing with hair and makeup. So, I really need to commit to taking the time to: a) look in the mirror daily; b) care about the reflection in the mirror; and c) do something about the reflection in the mirror. I'm talking about regular and competent use of hair products, face serums, tweezers, and lip gloss, along with dangly earrings du jour and possibly even lotion on my elbows, knees and feet. I know, I know, you probably won't recognize me.
2. I'd like to finally pick out a new pair of glasses, not because mine are 12 years old, so out of style that they're nearly back in style, and the lenses are so scratched that I have to peer out of the top or bottom 1/4 of the lenses in order to really see well. I want new glasses because these practical, functional, brown, every-day-all-season specs don't reflect my personality or passions in life. So, with the help of a committee, I have been trying on every pair of frames at 2 different Costco's and 1 Eyemasters, trying to find the perfect one. I think we're finally closing in on one.
3. I'd like to make a perfect pie crust. Perfectly flaky. Perfectly brown. Perfectly buttery and salty. Perfectly scrumptious. Perfectly able to support the chocolate cream filling, the banana cream filling, the fresh blueberry filling, the caramel apple filling, the pecan and even pumpkin filling. I made a crust just yesterday with an obscene amount of tiny cubes of frozen butter in it, the iciest ice water, flour, salt and sugar, rolled it out, baked it, pulled it out of the oven and was so disappointed that it tasted like an over-cooked flour tortilla. Do I really need to take a class to learn how to do this?
4. Hike up Piestewa Peak. I truly hate hiking. My legs are too short for the tall steps. I feel like I need a pair of ski poles to help me up. But I've heard there's an easy, gradual trail somewhere off the way back parking lot. So, I'm considering it. Could someone please tell me why they hike in the first place?
5. Go to a Zumba class. I am a klutz. I don't know the first thing about Latin dancing. I hate to sweat in a room full of non-sweat-ers who've been dancing with fluidity and ease since childhood. I will no doubt be stepping on toes, smacking people in the back with my uncoordinated elbows, and tripping over my own feet. I think I'll start with a Zumba video at home.
6. Finish up the children's songs I'm writing for my sister's kindergarten class. I've got two done, now working on counting to 30, the shapes, and the colors. Must buckle down and get them recorded before school starts. This actually should be #1 on my list.
7. Read The Making Of A Chef by Michael Ruhlman. Read Day After Night by Anita Diamant.

So, how about you, what’s on your “must-do-before-summer’s-over” list?

**P.S., I will be doing my first-ever giveaway next Wednesday (Aug 18) here on Rock The Desert. Theme is "Bittersweet." Will include a signed copy of "Bittersweet" and some bittersweet treats!

Fearless

Today's the day that Max Lucado's latest book, Fearless, will hit bookshelves in stores and online. To be totally honest, I've never read an entire Max Lucado title from cover to cover. In spite of my best intentions, I usually find myself skimming and trolling through most of his books looking for quotable quotes, insights worded just right, and great testimonies to weave into Sunday worship sets. After reading Fearless from first word to last, I discovered a powerful message, masterfully interwoven with scripture, personal anecdotes, prayers and stories. Yes, it would be possible to glean out the choice tidbits and separate them from the whole work. However, the power of Fearless is in the way the details join together, creating a compelling, convicting and captivating case for living fearlessly.

One of my favorite chapters was "Caffeinated Life." In it, Mr. Lucado leads us down the road of "Fear of What's Next." He compares the transitions, unexpected surprises, unwelcome twists and turns in life to caffeine. We long for a safe, problem-free decaffeinated state of being. When caffeine is added, our lives go from self-reliant and "season-free" to panic and we frantically try to exchange the caff for de-caff. Mr. Lucado gives us the words of Jesus where He promises to send the Holy Spirit to go before, behind and within us. He also includes a simple metaphor of this earth quite possibly being the womb from which we are birthed into eternal glory.

In the conclusion, Mr. Lucado leaves us with a simple, beautiful psalm written by a 7-yr old young man named William. It is a psalm from which I plan to draw inspiration to write my own personal psalm of Faith & Trust & Courage.

I didn't laugh. I didn't cry. But the words in this book spoke deeply and personally to me. Fearless has been added to my current top 10 list of books to re-read and dissect and pray through. If I were to write out favorite quotes on individual sticky notes, they'd probably fill and create a beautiful mosaic on my dining room wall. Hmmm...

For more on Fearless, check out this great resource The Fearless Times from Thomas Nelson.

$200 and Free Stuff

OK, everyone - here's a Facebook group worth joining...it's called ChristianAudio. This is one of my favorite companies to do business with. If you go to www.christianaudio.com, you can download a free, full-length audio book (their choice) every month. This month, it's "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. I highly recommend this book...Francis Chan is one of my all-time favs!

This month, ChristianAudio on Facebook is giving away some great prizes, including a $200 gift certificate their web store! C'mon and join the group and participate in the contest!!

CHRISTIAN AUDIO 1-2-3 FACEBOOK SUMMER PROMOTION
1 first prize of a $200 gift certificate to our web store!
2 second prizes of a $50 gift certificate to our web store and a free download of our new iDevotional App for the iPhone and iPod Touch (check it out here http://christianaudio.com/idevotional )!
3 third prizes of a free download of our new iDevotional App for the iPhone and iPod Touch (check it out here http://christianaudio.com/idevotional )!

All you have to do is invite all your friends to our Facebook Group or Page here on Facebook and have them post your name on our discussion board. Be sure to invite all your Facebook friends, send them emails, post it to twitter & your blog, and anywhere else!

Discussion board on our Group: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=8765&uid=2445666525
Discussion board on our Page: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=10178&uid=61022419688

Through The Storm - A Favorable Review

I am not a tabloid reader. I do not watch celebrity “tell-all” shows. My opinions of celebrities come mostly from late-night talk show monologues and from glancing at “headlines” while checking out at the grocery store. I have never had a desire to know everything there is to know about Lynne Spears and/or her life and children. However, when I had a chance to read and review “Through The Storm,” I knew that I would be able to read it objectively and review it critically. I had no idea that the stories, thoughts and confessions would resonate deeply within me as a mom, sister, daughter and friend.

"Through The Storm"

Lynne Spears shares her personal journey through life, from early childhood through many stages of life, including her marriage, child-rearing years, and the loss of her parents, her eventual divorce, and the loss of her beloved sister, Sandra. It quickly becomes apparent that she had an incredibly strong, loving family structure, full of faith and hard-working values. In raising her own children, she seems to have instilled these same qualities into them.

“When fame blew through my family’s existence, everything changed.” Reading about Britney’s whirlwind journey to fame was absolutely fascinating. I have listened to her songs on the radio and seen a music video or two on MTV and have thought of her as an entertainer but not necessarily a singer. I had no idea that she actually has a true “voice” that is strong and beautiful. I also was surprised to learn that Jamie Lynn is a talented actress and entertainer in her own right.

In the heartbreaking pages that chronicle Britney’s downward spiral and Jamie Lynn’s teenage pregnancy, I found myself wanting to reach out to Lynne and her children and offer them even momentary protection from the storm. She manages to tell these extremely personal parts of the story with dignity and respect for her children’s privacy. I did not detect any notes of self-pity or false humility, just raw honesty and pain from a mother’s perspective.

“A Mother’s Heart” is a well-written, thoughtful conclusion to the book. Lynne shares her regrets. She gives us deep insight into her personal faith. Then she writes sections devoted to each of her children before leaving us with a final thought about God’s love. “When I reflect, I realize something: the fame that came crashing into my life may have been a shock to me, but God was not surprised. Everything that has happened to my family has passed through his hands.”

Watercooler Wednesday - Pop Goes The Church

This post is part of Watercooler Wednesday, a creative think-tank which gathers weekly for conversation at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog. Check out Randy's latest WCW post HERE.

I had a lot of time to read while traveling to and from Romania last week. I could hardly stop reading my brand new ESV New Testament. I love this version. I underlined tons of scripture that I had memorized or was familiar with.

I also was able to read "Pop Goes The Church" by Tim Stevens, from beginning to end. I thoroughly enjoyed the read. If you go to the Pop Goes The Church website, you can read Chapter 4 - A Tale of Five Churches. Basically, Tim lists a set of five choices which every church has about how to deal with pop culture surrounding our churches: 1. Condemn; 2. Separate; 3. Embrace; 4. Ignore; 5. Leverage.

You probably don't even need to read Chapter 4 to determine the answers to these  questions:

• Which one of these choices describes your church's response to pop culture?
• How about your own personal response to pop culture...do you imitate pop culture, or are you creating culture?

Take a minute right now to check out Tim's "Leading Smart" blog. It's one my top 5. He posted an article recently called "Why Pop Culture Is No Longer Popular" which in some ways seems to refute the premise of his own book. Great post and lots of good comments.

WCW - Crazy Love

It's Watercooler Wednesday - time to assemble the creative brain trust once again around the watercooler at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog - join me and many others at the cooler today - and check out this week's WCW post by Randy Elrod HERE! And to make it more fun, leave comments at all the blogs you visit!!

I just finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Loved it, underlined it, reading it again! It's an interactive read, meaning that Francis has included cool videos on his website designed to correspond to every chapter in the book. The website also contains an excerpt from the book - actually, all of Chapter One! Oh, and check out this interview with Francis. While I was cruising through the website, I noticed Francis has a new video blog - lots of fun stuff on there - this is one creative dude! Actually, he's the founding pastor and a teaching pastor at Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA. I followed several links on the church website and discovered Just Stop And Think and Echo Prayer. What a cool church!!! They are creating culture like crazy (no pun intended)!! From their "building project" (an amphitheater instead of a building) to their Bible college to their local and global ministries, they are "doing church" driven by Crazy Love...

"She Reads" Cold Tangerines

"I believe in a life of celebration. I believe that the world we wake up to every day is filled to the brim with deep, aching love, and also with hatred and sadness. And I know which one of those I want to win in the end. I want to celebrate in the face of despair, dance when all we see on the horizon is doom. I know that Death knocks at our doors and comes far too early for far too many of us, but when he comes for me, I want to be full-tilt, wide-open, caught in the very act of life."

Just a short from excerpt from "Cold Tangerines" (page 231) to whet your appetite. For an audio sample of this excerpt plus a little bit more, click HERE.

This book can be read all at once. Or one chapter at a time. Or random chapters at a time, not necessarily in sequential order. It is raw and honest, funny and self-deprecating, beautiful and celebratory, and deeply satisfying.

Shauna Niequist is a masterful storyteller, with vibrant metaphors weaving personal stories and experiences together into a compelling, life-giving tapestry of real life. Check out her blog for more stories, pics, great links and three full chapters from the book!

Our newly formed book club, "She Reads", is reading "Cold Tangerines" in May and will meet for discussion, snacks & beverages on Thursday, May 29 at 6:30pm. For directions/RSVP, click HERE.

WCW - Bookworm

Today is Watercooler Wednesday - this post, along with many others from creative bloggers across the planet, can be found at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog today. If you are looking for a great daily blog to read, add this one to your RSS reader and enjoy the creative, thought-provoking, artistic posts that are the trademarks of Ethos! Randy's WCW post today is about his favorite book of all time.

I was a bookworm growing up. I even started a library for the neighborhood kids in the treehouse in our backyard! Yes I did create those little checkout cards in paper sleeves inside of each book cover. I guess I don't have a favorite book. I've got tons of favorites. I've got multiple favorite series of books. Don't even get me started on all the Reader's Digest Condensed Books I've read - believe me - there are 100's!! Reading is a feast for the imagination. Well-chosen words crafted into dangerously true sentences have the power to transport is backward and forward in time, awaken long-forgotten memories, and stimulate our longing for creativity, purpose, and abundant life! By the way, is there a better word for abundant - it has such a churchy connotation. Maybe overflowing?

I went to the public library for the first time in years yesterday. I've decided to start paying my children to read books. It's not that they don't like reading, it's just that, well, they LOVE guitar hero, rock band, starcraft, and medal of honor. Trading one love for another is not my goal necessarily, but I really want to add some balance, some sense of words on a page being meaningful and rich and potentially life-changing, and a way to broaden their view of the past, present and future. OK, all that to say, Scottsdale has a beautiful library, totally interactive, well-organized, well-staffed, and well-stocked. While waiting for my offspring to painstakingly select some books, I managed to find a huge stack of books for myself as well. I was drawn to these three books:   "The Savior," by Eugene Drucker (of Emerson String Quartet fame); "I Heard That Song Before," by Mary Higgins Clark; and "Mozart's Sister," by Rita Charbonnier. Maybe one of these will become a favorite!

Reading

I love to read. Growing up I loved to read. I would spend hours each day being lost in the world of Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Joy Sparton, Rosamund Du Jardin...the list is really endless. I still have a lot of books from childhood and I've saved just about every book from my own children's childhood. I also have a nice-sized collection of Reader's Digest condensed books - I've read most of them - some I've read and re-read several times. But, lately, it seems like it is more and more difficult to carve out time for reading. Simply sitting down to read seems lazy, non-urgent, almost sinful. I tend to read for a short while right when I get in bed. But I find my mind wandering, not settling down, not focusing on the words on the pages. I read a phrase then spend 10 minutes daydreaming myself into a totally different world and topic and when I reluctantly pull back into the present, I've got to find my place in the book, backtrack a little to get some context, then go forward 'til the next daydreaming episode. Eventually, I wake up with my head on the book, glasses still on, and I put the book on the nightstand, vowing to try again the next night.

I'm hoping to re-capture this enjoyable pastime from my childhood in the coming months. It's a part of my creative self that has been dormant for far too long.

Cold Tangerines

I just finished reading an amazing book by Shauna Niequist called "Cold Tangerines". It is a collection of essays that is real and raw and all about everyday life. I bought my copy at Barnes and Noble. You can also find it at Shauna's website www.shaunaniequist.com.

Destiny

Right now I'm reading a really great book by Erwin McManus called Soul Cravings. (Check out the link on the LH side of the page.) The book is written like a journal with main topics containing a lot of journal entries under each one. In "Destiny" entry 7, Erwin writes, "We all hear voices in our heads and have visions erupting out of our brains that disrupt our daily routine and beg us to tear ourselves away from the mundane of life. Something stirs deeply within us, calling us out, inviting us to pursue and discover that which we do not know. All of us are called to a place we have not been. Our lives were always intended to be journeys into the unknown. The invitation is both personal and mystical. No one else may fully understand what you are being called to. You may not even fully understand. The path you must walk may appear to others as strange or unreasonable, but you know there's more going on than meets the eye....God calls us out of the life we have known and calls us to a life we have never imagined...The signs are all around you, but even more the signs are all within you. Your soul is being pulled forward. You are being called to a God whose voice your ears have never heard. You are having visions of a life you could not possibly create alone. You are no longer satisfied with where you are, and now you are on a quest for where you do not know. You were created not to live in the past, but to create the future. Your soul craves to become, and you will never be satisfied with less."

This passage is very timely. It has been simmering inside of me all day. I've read tons of inspirational books and quotes over the years, heard plenty of life-changing, charge up the hill messages, been stirred to action by powerful lyrics and prayers from saints, but today, I am deeply moved and profoundly inspired to become...that's it...to become...you know, that process by which we abandon our pride, raise our hands to the sky and surrender to the One who became in order for us to be able to become. I'm ready to not just say it but to do it. It's bigger than I can control or manage. So it won't be me calling the shots. I'm done with that. It's time to live and breathe and move and trust and love and be loved and, well, become...

Crazy People

I'm starting to realize that we might be crazy. A special kind of crazy. I remember hearing Erwin McManus speak at a leadership conference and he talked about how missionaries need to be crazy in order to spend their entire life passionately devoted to the cause. I believe this message eventually became his book "The Barbarian Way." He definitely has a point. Lately Dan has been telling people about his new passion in life and how he's leaving his job and evangelizing Africa. He tends to get this look of shock, then disbelief (because, after all, he is a great jokester), then amazement, then the bullying starts or the dismissal and uncomfortable subject change. Very few people have truly understood what it is God is calling him to do. I have to admit that at first I couldn't fully understand. I wanted to understand. I understood intellectually, but I couldn't feel it. I could see the look in his eyes and the fire in his belly was undeniable, but I didn't have the same conviction. But God knew I needed to experience Africa for myself. And I needed to hear Him say 'go.' Not because Dan is going or because of any other reason except that God said 'go.'

We know another couple, actually are related to them. They are also crazy. They are the ones who started all this missionary business within the family. Ray & Mary Berryman. They are constantly travelling the globe, taking every single opportunity possible to share the Gospel with anyone who will listen. And people definitely are listening. They've had the chance to meet heads of state in lots of countries. They've dined with multi-millionaires and with paupers. They've eaten things that shouldn't even be spoken of. They've slept at the Ritz and they've slept under the stars in Africa. They don't do this for themselves. They do it because God also said 'go.' And because of their example and encouragement and prayers, we are headed down a similar path.

Here's an excerpt from their prayer letter for their trip to Spain this coming weekend. Whether you're a prayer warrior or not, I know they would appreciate as much prayer as possible for this outreach.

Mary and I will be traveling to Barcelona, Spain this Thursday, April 12, 2007 to conduct a leadership outreach mission there. We will be working with the leaders of Campus Crusade for Christ to reach and disciple top leaders there in Spain. A number of executive outreach meetings and interviews with key leaders have been scheduled, and we will be sharing with them how they can achieve true success in their businesses and in their lives through having a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and applying integrity in all they do.    In this once religious Catholic nation, most of the population is now secular and have little interest in hearing about Christianity. However, people are desperately searching for meaning in life at this time as they see unrest and Islam knocking at their door. This sets the stage to have people become more open to seek solutions to their current state of affairs, resulting in a more friendly reception of biblical truths.   This is our first outreach to the leadership in Spain and we are hoping that the hearts of the people will be open to the truths that can transform their nation...As a follow up to these meetings, the new believers and seekers will be connected with existing Christian leaders there to help provide fellowship and discipleship of those that are interested in learning more...

I feel fine

I have a collection of books. They take up 5 bookcases in my living room. Not to mention the stacks on tabletops, nightstands, and the fully loaded shelves in the office.  Some are favorites from childhood. Nancy Drew, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Trixie Belden. Some are favorites that I read to my kids. The Big Hungry Bear, The Little Red Caboose, Quick As A Cricket. Some are favorites that I read when I was first a homemaker/mom like pretty much everything by Emilie Barnes & Liz Curtis Higgs.  Of course I've got an entire bookcase devoted to Readers Digest condensed books. They are beautiful and I've read every one of them. Some of them multiple times. Then there are all the books on creativity and leadership. Loads of those. Then the occasional random purchase at Barnes & Noble - some how-to books among those. Then of course the big beautiful cookbooks authored by the Food Network chefs. And then there's books-on-CD from christianaudio.com. But lately, I've been trying to find something to read that's different. True, inspiring stories of courage and hope. These are few and far between on my shelves because I've always tended to be a little (maybe a lot) cynical about these "feel good" "everyone's a winner" type of stories. Now it seems like I'm discovering new emotions I never knew existed. Just last week I watched a whole Oprah special and actually cried. Several times. While these feelings are uncomfortable, I feel like I'm being softened from the inside out for a purpose greater than I can understand right now. Part of this is a conspiracy on the part of Randy Shoulders and the ultra-huggy Fellowship North members. It's getting easier to feel and share authentic feelings and to give and receive hugs. Quite a different season of life but one that I'm realizing is a necessary part of my growth as a person. So to all you sentimental huggers out there, thanks for letting me join you. And just know that if you see me reading a book and crying I'm feeling fine, just fine.