Blog Tour: My Life Unscripted

When I was a teenager in Southern Indiana, pining after a former boyfriend (who was definitely NOT the man God had in mind for me) and writing bad poetry, a book like Tricia Goyer's My Life Unscripted might have helped. Tricia, writing from her own experience, helps teen girls see that the plan God has for their lives is so much better than what they can imagine. And she helps her young readers see that they can't deal with the challenges they face by just living from moment to moment, from one emotional extreme to another. Here's how Tricia describes what she needed:

I lived each day as it came, with no plan for my future, for my relationships, or for my heart. I lived my life completely unscripted . . . and, well, you saw how well that went for me.
How about you? What type of script are you writing for your life?
When I say “script” I’m not talking about career goals or college plans. I’m not talking about current class schedules or finding the unique purpose for your future. While all of those are important, there are other parts of our life we need to script, too, such as:
• Dealing with peer pressure from both guys and friends.
• The search for popularity. How to find it. Or live without. Or be happy in between.
• Relationships with parents. No matter how out of touch with reality they seem to be.
• And living for God without turning your back on the world.
Scripting your life comes down to thinking through struggles—yours as well as the struggles of others—and considering the best approach. While there are dozens of teen books and magazines out there dealing with these relationship type topics, I’m going to lay it all out there by (1) sharing my past experiences (which would be easier and more comfortable to hide), (2) including input from teens just like you, and (3) showing God’s POV (point of view), through God’s Word—the Bible. We’ll dig deep to uncover answers concerning our lives and our place in the world.
Why use the Bible? According to a recent survey, “Almost two-thirds of teens (62 percent) believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings.”
If you’re part of this majority, then you’ll already appreciate how God’s Word can help you in everyday life. If you aren’t sure how you feel about the Bible, feel free to stick around and keep an open mind.

If this sounds like you or your daughter or a teenage girl you know, you can read more of the first chapter here. Then go buy the book. My daughters are grown now, but I'm going to share this book with our youth pastor (a woman with a heart for teen girls).

Happy Birthday Megan

Tomorrow is Megan's birthday, so I thought I'd put up a couple of pictures. She's about 2 1/2 in the picture on the left; the other was taken this summer. I think both show her personality -- smart and sassy and strong. We've had our issues over the years, but she's grown up to be lovely young woman (in spite of all the mistakes I've made) and I'm so proud of her. God is doing a good work in her.

I'm going to tell a Megan-story. She learned to walk when she was about 10 1/2 months old -- it was shear determination. She would stand up and stagger drunkenly across the floor after Julia and John. She'd fall down, then pick herself up again and take off. There was no way she was going to be left behind. Not long after she learned to walk we were in a waiting room at the hospital and she was toddling around tapping on things, with her pacifier in her mouth. She wasn't talking yet (though it wouldn't be long), but she understood everything we said. An older lady spoke to her in that condescending tone some grown-ups use with little kids. She pointed at Megan's pacifier and said "Can I have that?" Megan gave her a perfectly dead-pan look, took her pacifier out of her mouth, and held it out to her. I'm sure she was thinking something like "well if you really want it lady ..." I don't think the poor woman knew what to think.

Whatever is ahead of her, I know her determination and sense of humor, as well as her reliance on God, will stand her in good stead.

Now that I've thoroughly embarrassed her, I'll say "Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great day!"

I always knew I was a misfit

Yesterday I guest-blogged over at The Misfits -- Songs in a Minor Key.

And speaking of the Misfits, Chris, Angie and Jenny all took home second places in the ACFW Genesis contest. Very big congrats to you all!

CSSF Tour: Return

September's Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy tour is for Return, the third book of Austin Boyd's Mars Hill Classified trilogy. You can learn more from Austin's Web site or at one of the blogs listed below.


Trish Anderson
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Grace Bridges
Amy Browning
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Lisa Cromwell
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Merrie Destefano or Alien Dream
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Jill Hart
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Christopher Hopper
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Kait
Karen
Dawn King
Tina Kulesa
Rachel Marks
Karen McSpadden
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
Lyn Perry
Deena Peterson
Rachelle
Cheryl Russel
Chawna Schroeder
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

My brother is writing

on a new blog: At the Crossroads. He had a Xanga site he used for a while, but this is new and he says he'll keep up with it more. Anyway, he's off to a good start with some thoughts about worship.

So 50 isn't so bad ...

All in all, I think I had a pretty nice birthday. Yes, Saturday was my birthday and I don't feel any older than I did on Friday. I spent the day Saturday with Julia (the mother of my impending grandson) and we had a lovely time.

I also got a very nice bit of writerly news on Friday, which I think I'll count as a birthday present. "Sanctuary" will also be appearing in Issue 4 of Relief Journal, as a teaser for Coach's Midnight Diner. Speaking of the Diner, Nappaland.com has a nice review. (I'm not sure it's posted at the site yet, but Coach posted it in the Diner authors section of the Relief Writer's Network, so I've seen it.) I'm getting more excited to see my copy.

If you ever wondered ...

Wondered, whatever became of me
I'm livin' on the air in Cincinnati
Cincinnati WKRP ...

A special treat came in the mail this week: the first season of WKRP in Cincinnati, one of the best TV comedies ever. It was supposed to be a Mother's Day present, but I think now it's more of an early birthday present. But that's fine. It's been fun to watch this week and see how well it's held up over almost 30 years. There are references you'll miss if you don't remember the 70s, but most of the humor is related to the characters and the situation and it's still funny to see Les Nessman broadcast live as the Pinedale Shopping Mall is bombed with live turkeys, or get ready for his date with Jennifer, or any of the other great moments from that season. The cast truly was an ensemble and it's fun to watch.


And here's a bit of trivia for you: Gordon Jump, who played Arthur Carlson, was a K-State grad and worked on the campus radio station in the late 1950s.

In the fall of 1999 (I think), Mr. Jump spoke at the Kansas Association of Broadcasters meeting when it was in Manhattan (home of K-State), so he visited the school of journalism and had lunch with some of the faculty and students in the Bluemont Room. (I was working in the school of journalism at the time.) Mr. Jump is on the front row, on the left and I'm the woman in the blue dress in front. He was a very interesting and nice man and seemed to feel he'd been blessed to have the life he did. At the time, he was still doing the Maytag commercials and enjoyed it. He died a few years ago, so it's neat to have had the chance to meet him.

New column posting

I've added my latest "Notes from the Windowsill" column to my other blog: More Lessons from Summer Vacation, or, On the cloverleaf of life, where do you get off and ask for directions?

Yes, it's a long title and somewhat reminiscent of Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons. But I think it gets its point across all the same.