Thursday, February 14, 2013

Out of the Blue

Out of the Blue

I'm joining in with my virtual pal Kristen (whom I'm certain I will meet in person someday) at Out of the Blue Thursday. Details are here, and today's link-up is here.

Answered prayers.

Sometimes I forget that God answers the prayers of our hearts, and not always with blinking neon lights and a huge arrow that says "HEY LOOK--I answered your prayer HERE."

Every time we move, I have to leave friends behind. As a military family, we've moved three times, and each of those times was across great distances. I have to leave friends behind every single time, starting anew in each location.

The cry of my heart is to have friends close by. The kind I can hug in person. The kind I can call without calculating time zone differences.

Each move, each new location, God provides me friends. Multiple friends who care about . . . well, me.

Lord, I may not always say something, but today I say, thank You.

Wife 2 Wife Wednesday

What made me fall in love with my husband?

I was so reluctant to trust my changing feelings toward him. We had been college buddies for three years. I'd even turned him down when he asked me out, because someone I secretly crushed on paid attention to me, and then I proceeded to waste two years dating him. (Plus, I swore I'd never marry a preacher. Ha, ha.)

So when my now-husband started hanging around, the more we talked, the more my heart healed, and turned toward him as the caring, loving, wonderful man I have been married to for almost 22 years. I was scared, and I didn't trust my heart. But eventually things changed, and it was good. And we are still in love.

Happy Valentine's Day!



To join in (even though, yes, Wednesday was yesterday) please go to the link-up here!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

When Opportunity Knocks {the (in)Courage Military Wife Group}

A warm welcome to all women whose husbands are
serving in the military!

Pattie and Chris want you to know that we know the sacrifice you and your family are making by being married to someone in the military--because we've been there. Between us we have over 40 years' experience in being military wives.



Chris is the wife of a retired Naval Officer who served for 31 years. After he retired he (who are we kidding--WE) went to seminary and he is now an Episcopal Priest, which makes me the Priest's wife. Never say that God doesn't have a sense of humor!

Pattie (this is her blog) is the wife of an Air Force Chaplain currently stationed in Alaska. He joined the reserves in 2002 and went active duty in 2006, which means he's been serving for eleven years as of Valentine's Day! While she's proudest of her military wife hat, her other hats include: mom of two teen girls, teacher, writer, editor, book addict, mom-taxi driver--and she's usually seen carrying a travel mug of coffee!

Both of us are thrilled to be working on behalf of the team at (in)courage, to create a warm, welcoming, encouraging community of military spouses of all branches and levels of service.

This is your group...we want to help, mentor and pray you through whatever is going on in your lives.  Pour yourself a cup of coffee, get comfy and tell us about yourself....we are anxious to meet you!

To join this group, you will need to request to join via Facebook at the link below. If you have any trouble, email me at freshbrewedwriter (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll help set you up.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/incouragemilitarywives/

___
A note for Pattie's blog readers about the title of this post--When opportunity knocks, do you answer the door?

In this case, I did. I answered the email from (in)courage and here I am--working alongside a terrific gal whom I might never have met otherwise, to expand what I'm doing over at Wives of Faith to reach a larger and different audience, and to encourage as many military wives as I can get my virtual arms around!

(in)Courage to Encourage

Pattie and Chris want you to know that we know the sacrifice you and your family are making by being married to someone in the military--because we've been there. Between us we have over 40 years' experience in being military wives.



Chris is the wife of a retired Naval Officer who served for 31 years. After he retired he (who are we kidding--WE) went to seminary and he is now an Episcopal Priest, which makes me the Priest's wife. Never say that God doesn't have a sense of humor!

Pattie (this is her blog) is the wife of an Air Force Chaplain currently stationed in Alaska. He joined the reserves in 2002 and went active duty in 2006, which means he's been serving for eleven years as of Valentine's Day! While she's proudest of her military wife hat, her other hats include: mom of two teen girls, teacher, writer, editor, book addict, mom-taxi driver--and she's usually seen carrying a travel mug of coffee!

Both of us are thrilled to be working on behalf of the team at (in)courage, to create a warm, welcoming, encouraging community of military spouses of all branches and levels of service.

This is your group...we want to help, mentor and pray you through whatever is going on in your lives.  Pour yourself a cup of coffee, get comfy and tell us about yourself....we are anxious to meet you!

To join this group, you will need to request to join via Facebook at the link below. If you have any trouble, email me at freshbrewedwriter (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll help set you up.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/incouragemilitarywives/

___
A note for Pattie's blog readers about the title of this post--When opportunity knocks, do you answer the door?

In this case, I did. I answered the email from (in)courage and here I am--working alongside a terrific gal whom I might never have met otherwise, to expand what I'm doing over at Wives of Faith to reach a larger and different audience, and to encourage as many military wives as I can get my virtual arms around!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

CFBA presents Shattered

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Shattered
Bethany House Publishers (February 1, 2013)
by
Dani Pettrey


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

In real life, Dani Pettrey is a wife, homeschooling mom and author. She feels blessed to write inspirational romantic suspense because it incorporates so many things she loves–the thrill of adventure, nail-biting suspense, the deepening of one’s faith and plenty of romance. She’s a huge fan of dark chocolate, is always in search of the best iced mocha and her dream is to one day own a little cottage on a remote stretch of beach. She and her husband reside in Maryland with their two teenage daughters.

Just in case you’re curious…The real Dani does love traveling. She’s been to some amazing places (Greece, Hawaii, the Keys) and there are many more she hopes to visit in the future.

And while she’s not quite up to sky-diving, cave diving or heli-skiing (too high, too enclosed, too cold!) she and her family love hiking, canoeing, wave jumping and a ton of other outdoor adventures a little further down on the risk scale.

Dani is the acclaimed author of the romantic suspense series Alaskan Courage, which includes her bestselling debut novel Submerged and latest release Shattered. She feels blessed to write inspirational romantic suspense because it incorporates so many things she loves–the thrill of adventure, nail biting suspense, the deepening of her characters’ faith, and plenty of romance. She and her husband reside in Maryland with their two teenage daughters.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Piper McKenna couldn't be more thrilled that her prodigal brother, Reef, has returned to Yancey, Alaska, after five years. But her happiness is short-lived when Reef appears at her house covered in blood. A fellow snowboarder has been killed--but despite the evidence, Reef swears he's innocent. And Piper believes him.

Deputy Landon Grainger loves the McKennas like family, but he's also sworn to find the truth. Piper is frustrated with his need for facts over faith, but he knows those closest to you have the power to deceive you the most. With his sheriff pushing for a quick conviction, some unexpected leads complicate the investigation, and pursuing the truth may mean risking Landon's career.

With Piper waging her own search, the two head deep into Canada's rugged backcountry--and unexpected complications. Not only does their long friendship seem to be turning into something more, but this dangerous case is becoming deadlier with each step.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Shattered, go HERE.

No review yet, as I have been swamped. I will try to get both books read and reviewed over the next couple of weeks.
Thanks to the publisher for copies of Shattered and Submerged.