Four Things

I can't help it. I have to do this. It's too fun to pass up. I read several different Four Things posts on different blogs and decided to accept the challenge.

4 movies I'd see again:
1. Sabrina
2. Dave
3. You've Got Mail
4. The Great Escape

4 places I've lived:
1. mom's house in Texas
2. my college dorm in Texas
3. my first apartment in Texas
4. my first house in Texas
(Hey, I was born here. Why would I want to leave?)

4 TV shows I enjoy
1. EXTREME Makeover - Home Edition
2. PBS documentaries on the awesome beauty of nature
3. any PBS show about Jazz
4. Andy Griffith reruns

4 of my favorite vacation spots
1. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
2. Orlando, Florida
3. Yosemite, Califorina
4. Athabascan Glacier, Canada (where my brother got muddy up to his knees and had to sit in the back of the station wagon in his underwear while his jeans and socks, which were snuggly tucked in the back window, flapped in the wind to dry as we drove away.)

4 websites/blogs I frequent
1. Forensics & Faith
2. Camy's Loft
3. Pyromarketing
4. ACFW Forum

4 foods I like (in no particular order)
1. Italian
2. Asian
3. Seafood
4. Bakery Items
4. Greek
4. Mexican
Okay, so I'm easy to please!

4 places I'd rather be
1. on a NYC booksigning tour (I'm currently unpublished, but they have great restaurants.)
2. on a secluded beach with my husband
3. getting my hair and nails done
4. on a daytime talk show promoting my second book (I'm still unpublished.)

Anyone who wants to accept the challenge please consider yourself tagged. Post a comment here to tell me where to go to read yours.

Terri's Brother

I'm working on my writing. Training. Learning. Improving. And going to concerts.

My sister invited my family to a Wayne Kerr concert at her church. Of course I wanted to go. My husband and I've been on a mission trip with him. He's talented, fun, and has a huge heart for God.

He related funny anecdotes about his recent trip to Indonesia. He thinks teens need to spend time in other countries so they won't take for granted all the freedoms they have here. When we leave home and stay a couple of weeks overseas, we learn a lot about other cultures. Punctuality and personal space take various forms depending on where you go. It sometimes takes a little getting used to.

Wayne is a great singer/song writer, but he's also Terri's brother. I met Terri and her husband Dave before I went on my first mission trip. She has an awesome voice. She and our friend Vickie and I sang in Belize, Jamaica, and Texas at various events before we had kids. Years later, the trio split up. It wasn't geographically convenient to continue since Terri and Dave left Texas for a great job - and I was busy raising my little family. I miss seeing her, but I appreciate the chance to go to Wayne's concerts when I know about them.

Thanks for the wonderful worship music, Wayne. Enjoyed the prayertime-video. Hope your wife had a happy birthday.

Prepare with Prayer

I will not be at my usual place next week because I'll be on my way back home from a writers' conference. I'm pretty excited about going to the Mount Hermon Writers Conference.

I went to the conference last year and loved it. This year, I'll know my way around a little better, and hopefully, I'll get a little more out of it. I'm hoping to not have that freshman wide-eyed stare this year. Hoping to look a little more like I belong there.

Last year, my roommate used a lot of patience with me at night when I was tired. We were talking about my characters. She was trying to help me. I was really tired - and a teeny bit scatter-brained.

Thank you, God, for experienced writers who love to help out the unpublished and unenergetic conferees.

This year, I'll have a different roommate. Big surprise. Maybe I won't scare this girl off. The good news is that my first roommate and I still love each other. Of course she loves me. She's a godly woman.

I know that God has called me to write. I wouldn't spend money on conferences if I wasn't sure of my calling. I also know that success doesn't show up just because I'm called to write. I must prepare.

The best way to prepare is to ask God what He wants. After all, prayer is talking WITH God.

I've looked through my Bible to find scriptures that mean something to me regarding this particular conference. Psalm 42:6 "...I will remember you from the... heights of Hermon..." I'm going to Mount Hermon. I definitely plan to remember God every day from the heights of Mount Hermon. I'll be asking for safety as I walk up and down the hilly campus to get to various workshop locations. I'll be asking for wisdom so I can carry on intelligent conversations with experienced members of the writing community. I'll be asking for guidance in all areas of my experience there.

Psalm 47:6 encourages us to "sing praises to God" and "sing praises to our King". I will be joining in the crowd of worshippers singing praises to our Living God.

Psalm 57 reminds me that I take refuge in the shadow of God. I cry out to Him and He fulfills His purpose for me.

Psalm 52 speaks of my trust in God. "I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints."

When I talk to God, I usually try to listen. He may want to speak. I know how it is when my son speaks to me, and then leaves without listening to what I'm saying. I sometimes raise my voice so he can hear me as he's leaving. I pray that God will help me hear Him, that He will raise His voice above my emotions this weekend. I pray that I will hear Him well enough that if He chooses to speak through me to someone else, I won't miss Him.

Thank You, God, that You know my weaknesses. Give me courage to serve where You send me.

"to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen." Rev 1:6