Old Coat, New Coat.

A few years ago, I bought a long winter coat from the thrift store. Now I will admit it was pretty ugly, but it kept my bum and thighs warm. In fact, it kept me so warm that I looked on the tag to find out what it was made of. I never would have guessed it, but it was made of Camel hair. So I put a long scarf on it and called it good. It still looked as ugly as sin, but I was warm so I kept my head down and wore it.

This year I decided enough was enough with the ugliness, so I went online to find a solution and I found quite a few.

Here is what I did . . .
I replaced the buttons and put fake fur around the cuffs, pocket opening and collar.

Now when I start a project I jump in with both feet and look later. So, I never remember to get a before photo for things like a blog. (sigh)

So here is the best I could do, it's after the buttons are replaced. But here is a pic. of the old buttons so that you can get an idea just how bad this coat looked.

BEFORE

 AFTER

 Now instead of feeling like a dork, I feel like a million bucks!

Oz the Great and Powerful and it's Picture of Adoption

I have a daughter adopted internationally form South Korea. In the past year, I've been on a journey of learning. It's hard to comprehend what an adopted child has suffered emotionally. It's especially hard, when said child fights you at every turn. To me, being adopted is no big deal. I love my child very much and don't see being adopted as a hard or bad thing. I know that God chose a specific little girl to be ours and be part of or family. But, I've been learning that the adopted child can have a very different perspective.
While in the struggles of raising our daughter it's so easy to forget that even though she was six months old when she came home, she has a past. That past is longer than six months, it is in fact fifteen months. So many factors during pregnancy effect the development of children, that the time in the womb can't be disregarded as unimportant.

So here is the picture that God showed me...
The second time that I watched Oz The Great and Powerful, I was stuck by the little china doll. I mean it's not like we know anything about her when the wizard walks into her demolished village and finds her hiding behind a table with two broken legs. Yet, I found that my heart was broken for her and all that she had suffered. She has survived a very traumatic event. And I felt compassion for her.

My eyes were opened. My daughter has suffered from a traumatic experience that is just as heart wrenching as that little china doll. Can you feel the pain and fear that she must have experienced?

 

What about those broken legs? An adopted child has already lost a mother and father, and they had no control over the situation. It's like having their legs broken off. Along comes the wizard. He glues her legs back on. An adoptive family is like those glued on legs. The child is whole, cherished, loved, provided for, and protected. But, I'm beginning to see the cracks that are left behind on their legs. Will they ever be truly whole? I know of only one way to permanently fix a broken person, and that is God. Only God. My heart breaks for the hurt that my child feels every minute of every day, deep down inside and I plead with God to heal her broken legs that she may be whole in Him.


How do you parent a broken person? Don't ask me! I'm floundering. My hope is in the LORD and His wisdom in each and every situation. My wisdom failed me years ago. I have one thing left to do, surrender to God and parent in His strength and leave the result up to him. For too long I've been so afraid of what my daughters future might be. If a person acts irresponsibly as a child and you feel like you can't teach them correctly, than the only reasonable conclusion is that they will be an irresponsible adult, right? Wrong! Because there is a God who lives and moves in our lives and most of all changes hearts. I'm not saying that we stop training our children to be responsible adults, but at the end of the day the result isn't up to us.

As a side note on the little china doll in the movie, it didn't escape me that the first thing she does after being saved by the wizard is manipulate him. She cries until he says she can go with him into the dark Forest. Make of it what you will, I'm just say'in.

Blog Tour - Warning signs by Katy Lee. BOGO Sale!

A Buy One Get One Sale of Katy Lee’s Books!

 

In Katy Lee’s latest romantic-suspense story, WARNING SIGNS, her heroine, Miriam Hunter, is deaf. Owen, her hero, has some misconceptions of people with hearing impairments, but can Miriam change his way of thinking before she goes to jail? Or worse, killed?  WARNING SIGNS is the first story in Katy’s inspirational series that takes place on a fishing island in Maine.  Stop by the Island of Stepping Stones, where the lobster traps are always full and romance awaits even the hardest of hearts. 

 

RT Book Reviews gave WARNING SIGNS 4 ½ Stars, making it a keeper.   "Miriam is a strong character who is not held back by what others may perceive as a weakness. Acceptance is a key theme as Lee dispels some misconceptions regarding people with hearing impairments." ~RT Magazine

 

Back Cover Blurb:

 

When a drug-smuggling ring rocks a small coastal town, the DEA sends Agent Owen Matthews to shut it down. A single father with a deaf son, Owen senses that the town's number one suspect—the high school's new principal—doesn't fit the profile. Miriam Hunter hoped to shrug off the stigma of her hearing impairment when she returned to Stepping Stones, Maine. But her recurring nightmares dredge up old memories that could prove her innocence—and uncover the truth behind a decades-old murder. Yet Owen's help may not be enough when someone decides to keep Miriam silenced—permanently.

 

 

To read an excerpt, please visit Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Warning-Signs-Love-Inspired-Suspense/dp/product-description/0373445598/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

 

BIO: 

As an Inspirational Romantic Suspense author, Katy Lee writes higher-purpose stories in high-speed worlds. Through her writing, ministries, and teaching, she dedicates her life to sharing tales of love, from the “greatest love story ever told” to those sweet romantic stories of falling in love. Katy and her husband are born New Englanders and love to travel with their three adventuresome homeschooled children.  You can connect with Katy anytime at her website, www.KatyLeeBooks.com. There you will find links to Facebook and Twitter.  Please look her up!

 

 

To purchase the WARNING SIGNS Kindle version, you can go to:  http://tinyurl.com/o446oqw

 

B.O.G.O. Sale: If you purchase WARNING SIGNS between 12/1/13 -12/16/13 from any retailer, contact Katy at her website at www.KatyLeeBooks.com for directions to claim your FREE ecopy of REAL VIRTUE. If you would like to see the details on REAL VIRTUE, go here: http://tinyurl.com/cxeo8ot But remember to contact Katy directly at her website to claim your ecopy!

 

Bonus Giveaway: For a chance to win a $200 Amazon gift card, between December 1 and December 16, 2013, enter the John 3:16 Marketing Network Rafflecopter drawing at: http://bit.ly/Christian_Books You get a free entry just for stopping by!

 

Big News for The Presence of Shadows!

Yes! The Presence of Shadows has been sent to the editor for the last time. I hope. ; )

The  Presence of Shadows will be released early in 2014

The good news just keeps coming. Are you ready for the cover reveal?

Here it is!

The cover was designed by Karyn Richardson.

I can't believe that it's all coming together!

Blog Tour- Come read and Excerpt from The Donkey and the King

John 3:16 Marketing Network Excerpt Tour of

“The Donkey and the King”

    Excerpt Nine

A donkey longs for an easier life with no heavy burdens and no one to tell him what to do. He runs away and becomes lost, but “good” finds him in the most unlikely of places.

Travel to the Bible lands and meet Baruch, a stubborn donkey, and other lovable animals:  Lowly, the pig; Much-Afraid, a small, lame dog; Worldly Crow, who isn’t as bright as he thinks he is; and a sheep, Little, sent on a special mission by the King. The ending of the story will delight young readers as they discover “good” exists in the world if they look and listen for it.

When I was young, I hated doing chores. I suppose I was this donkey, rebellious and self-determined, but desperate for a friend—the one friend who would never leave me (or you).

Here is a short excerpt from “The Donkey and the King.” This is the ninth (and final) stop on the tour. If you missed the previous eight stops, here is a listing of all of them:

http://sunnebnkwrtr.blogspot.com/

http://bit.ly/Janis_Cox

http://connectwithcarolbrown.blogspot.com

http://queenofperseverance.blogspot.com

http://theimperfectjourney.blogspot.com

www.kevinmarksmith.com

http://www.emmaright.com

http://pauletteharper.blogspot.com/

I hope you will visit all the blogs and participate in the John 3:16 Marketing Network Book Launch and win the grand prize. See details below.

The donkey and the sheep took off down the road.

“We are going to a garden,” said the sheep. “It’s a beautiful place full of flowers, friends, and, most of all, the King, but…”

“But what?” Baruch asked.

“There is only one gate, one door, one place to get in.

An angel guards it with a flaming sword.

You must hear the King’s voice to enter the garden.”

*~*~*~*~*~*

On every page is the hidden word “good.” Can you find it in the drawings above? If not, you can look below and see where the word is hidden.

The unique quality about Kindle-enhanced books is that the drawings and font size can be enlarged for young readers. And for parents who can’t find the word, a QR code (a free AP is available for smart phones) and link is provided to facilitate the search. Some pages are more challenging than others (for older readers).

If you enjoyed looking for the mouse in “Goodnight Moon” when you were young, your child will delight in looking for “good” in “The Donkey and the King.” The moral:  There is good in the world if you look and listen for the King’s voice.

Details:

“The Donkey and the King” (A Story of Redemption)

99 cents December 1 through December 16

24 reviews, 4.8 stars

Ages 2-6

Book Trailer:  http://bit.ly/Donkey_Video

From December 1 through December 16, the John 3:16 Marketing Network is hosting a Christmas Book Launch and “The Donkey and the King” is a featured book.

As part of the event, the Network is offering a $200 Amazon gift e-card to one lucky winner. For a chance to win, go to http://bit.ly/Christian_Books and enter the Rafflecopter (toward the bottom of the page). And be sure and pick up your Kindle version of “The Donkey and the King” for 99 cents at http://bit.ly/Donkey_Kindle      

Lorilyn Roberts is an award-winning author who writes family-friendly books for the young, the young at heart, and all those in between. Visit http://LorilynRoberts.com to learn more.