Celebrating Christmas

Welcome everyone to a new Monday blog post.  I am happy y'all made it over for a visit.  Today, I plan to talk about my family's Christmas traditions and things about Christmas that are chiefly special to me.  In the comments, I would love to hear about some of your Christmas traditions.

First and foremost, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ.  Jesus is eternal from everlasting to everlasting, but when He was born of Mary, He took on human flesh, thus becoming fully God and fully human. He came to be the Savior of the world, to live a perfect life and then die on the cross for the sin of all who would believe in Him.  That is the most important reason to celebrate this time of year.  As I was growing up, it was my family's tradition to read from the Bible, Luke 2.  This tells the story of Jesus' birth.  As a child, I didn't understand why we should read that before we opened any of our presents.  The chapter seemed sooooo long to me, but as an adult, I am truly thankful that my parents taught me that Christmas is about Jesus.  There would be no reason to celebrate, if He had not come.  We still read Luke 2 in my home, not necessarily before presents, but it has been important for us to teach our children the true meaning of Christmas.  It warms my heart to watch my grandchildren being taught now, too.

I love giving gifts.  Thinking about each person on my list, their likes, interests, needs, wants, personalities, etc., is important to me.  I enjoy picturing them opening the gifts and hope they realize the love that went into them.  If I'm ever forced to choose a gift quickly or without thinking it through, I feel a little sad that I have not been able to put the thought and love into it that I wanted to.  Receiving gifts is fun, too.  Even little gifts, if they are given with love, mean so much to me.  I hate to feel as if a gift is given out of a feeling of obligation.  Did you guess that my love language is gifts? 😄  How do you feel about gift giving? Some people don't care about it at all.  They just want to get it over with or they think it a waste of time and money.  A gift doesn't even have to be a thing, though, it can be an experience or an act of service. A nice gift for me from you, would be for you to push that follow button over there ↗ and the submit button over there ↖. 🎄You need a gift, too? Ok, how about this...be the first one to follow me, email me your name and address, then recommend @sandykayslawson on facebook and I will send you a $10 gift card to @Chick-fil-A. May the gift giving begin! 

Usually my family waits to decorate and put up a tree after classes are over, tests have been taken, graded and grades turned in (my husband is a teacher).  When those things are done, we feel like we can truly relax and enjoy the season.  This time we are also waiting for our renovations to be finished before we completely decorate, but we did start on some of it yesterday.  Since we decorate so late, I leave them up until after the new year before I put them away, so that I can enjoy them longer.  When do you decorate and put away? Some people start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving, but I don't even want to hear a Christmas song until Thanksgiving is over.

This year will be different for my family. Two of my kids married this year, so I only have one 17 year old son left at home. My oldest has been married for 6 years.  With only one child left at home, I'm not sure what our Christmas Day will look like, but I'm sure we will all try to get together at some point over the holidays. Our old ways of celebrating the day are just memories now, really good memories, though.  I am excited to see how my children will celebrate in their own families and the traditions they will start together with their spouses and children. We will need to change how we do things.  It's a little sad, but I am happy for my children and the lives they are building and the families they are making.  God has blessed us so much.  In the past, Santa Claus would have all the kid's presents set in their own special spot in the Living Room. No child was allowed in that room after they went to bed on Christmas Eve, until their Daddy lined them all up in the hallway in order of age with video camera and camera ready, the hallway door would be opened and the children could all run in to see what Santa had left for them in their stockings and special spots. All the rest of the presents to each other would be wrapped and waiting under the tree, to be opened after breakfast.

It's hard to talk about the holidays without talking about food.  We have favorites around here, that we must have or we feel like we have not truly celebrated.  Santa Claus pancakes have been our Christmas breakfast for as long as I can remember, since my children have been born.  I probably saw it in a magazine at some point, but I don't remember.  I make regular pancakes, but we decorate them to look like Santa with the ingredients on the table: bananas, berries, raisins, cherries, whipped cream, nuts, etc.  I always try to have special syrups, too, such as strawberry, blueberry, real maple, chocolate and pumpkin.  Everyone has always had fun making their Santa's and taking pictures of them, before eating them up. The main Christmas dinner must have, is the Turkey Wreath.  About 15 years or so ago, I went to a Pampered Chef party.  In their catalog, they had the recipe for the Turkey Wreath.  I made it for Christmas that year and the family loved it so much, it has been at the center of our Christmas table ever since. What do you have? Turkey? Ham? Trout? The sides on our table are pretty much the same every year, too, like Green Bean casserole and Sweet Potato casserole...the more traditional holiday foods.  Certain sweets "need" to be available also, such as, Pumpkin pie, Apple Pie, Fudge-peanut butter, chocolate and white chocolate, peppermint bark and sugar cookies cut into Christmas shapes and decorated. I would love to hear about some of your favorite Christmas foods.

Christmas is my favorite time of year.  Caroling, eggnog, hot chocolate, apple cider, decorations, presents and celebrating my Savior Jesus Christ. What's not to love?  Yes, the traffic is worse, the shopping is harder, the days are shorter, but the fun and joyful celebrations make up for all those things, at least for me. 

I hope you and your family all have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Remember to thank the Lord for all your blessings and the joy of this season. Without Christ there would be no Christmas.

I hope you enjoy this beautiful Christmas song "O Holy Night" by Celine Dion and Josh Groban. 

Updates: 

I did get my submission in on time last Monday for the short story contest I entered.  I don't know if they will contact me if I don't get 1st, 2nd or 3rd place, but I guess if I don't hear from them after a month or so, I'll assume I didn't place.  Of course, I would love to win, but if not, I would at least like some feedback to help me learn from my mistakes.  Also, I have received the feedback from one of my Beta Readers on my first 3 chapters of my novel Hope for Charity, so I am busy working on those corrections, which I believe will help me as I go through the rest of the chapters as well.  The renovations on my house are in full swing and I will plan to post some more pictures when they are done.

I hope to spend the next two Mondays just enjoying my family and I hope you will do the same.  I will plan to have another new blog post after the new year.  If you haven't read all of my past posts, and need something to read, I encourage you to go back and see what you missed.

In Christ,

Sandy

Life Lessons

Hello and good Monday morning.  I'm happy you could join me today. As many of you know, I have been working on a short story to submit to a contest. That deadline is today. My story is written. My cover letter is written and my short bio is done. But...the formatting is beyond my skill set. So, I called in my genius husband, who plans to help me finish up and get it in today. Thank you, Lord for my husband!

Well, I thought today about ranting on the evils of formatting, but decided not to put you through that torment. Instead, I want to talk about a few life lessons I have learned so far in my journey to become a published author. Maybe, some of the things I've learned, will help you, too.

When we are born, we have talents and personalities already embedded in our DNA. Our environment can either encourage us or discourage us along the way. If we have parents, grandparents or others in our life that help and encourage us, we are more likely to excel. If we don't, then it will be a harder road ahead. Certain personalities will push forward no matter the obstacles, but others will grow discouraged and give up. 

If we lose heart and get stuck, no matter our skill or talents we will not be able to reach our full potential. Sometimes what holds us back is fear or self-doubt. Maybe we fear rejection or failure. May we doubt our ability to accomplish those things we dream of accomplishing. Believe me, I know all about that. Why do you think it has taken me so many years to follow my dreams? Fear and self-doubt can be debilitating. 

Maybe it's laziness. Maybe you enjoy vegetating and watching life go by. You want to give the least amount of effort possible to survive. You're born, you breathe, you die. What a depressing thought that is. I personally believe in Heaven and Hell. I believe that there will be an eternity in both of those places. What you believe and what you do in this life matters. We have all been given an awesome gift, the gift of life. On top of that, we have each been given personalities and talents, that the Lord God expects us to use. Not for ourselves, but for His glory and to be a blessing to others. To show how great He is. Don't waste this gift. Don't let life pass you by. Don't be happy in your comfort zone.

If it's fear or self-doubt holding you back, there is help. I have learned that it is OK to say, "I don't know. I need help." Maybe there are some people who will look down on you or me, but if they are that type of person, I don't really care what they think and you shouldn't either. What I have found is that people respect someone who wants to learn. Nobody likes a know it all. Why? Because nobody but God knows it all. We all need someone to teach us, we all need to be willing to learn. There are so many opportunities to learn available for every learning style. There really are no excuses anymore. You can find motivation, examples, people who have done what you want to do, classes, tutorials on YouTube, books...the list goes on and on.

Whether we feel stuck, ill equipped, held back or just plain lazy, we can change, especially if we seek direction and guidance from the Lord Jesus. He made us and He cares about how we use this life He gave us. Remember, it is not just about you. Your life affects so many others, not just for this life, but the life to come. Be a good steward. Don't squander these precious gifts.

One of the best lessons I have learned, is that no matter how much I have already learned, there is still more to learn. (How many times have I used the word learn so far...?) I've said it many times, but I didn't come up with it, "You learn something new everyday." That is especially true, when you are actively seeking to learn. (Ok, I have learned I need a different word than learn.)

According to Thesaurus.com, I could have used any of these words...

Synonyms for learn - verb acquire information

determine, enroll, gain, get, grasp, master, pick up, read, receive, review, study, apprentice, attain, con, cram, grind, imbibe, lucubrate, matriculate, memorize, peruse, prepare, be taught, be trained, become able, become versed, brush up on, burn midnight oil, commit to memory, crack the books, drink in, get down pat, get the hang of, get the knack of, improve mind, major in, minor in, pore over, soak up, specialize intake course, take in, train in, wade through

That is just a silly example of me realizing I needed help, because I caught myself using a word too much. So, easy peasy I looked it up and found what I needed to make my blog better. I was about to go back and change a substantial portion of my words, but then I thought I could use my mistake as an example for you. Don't be afraid to make a mistake, only be afraid if you have no desire to be taught or improve.

Don't let life pass you by with nothing much to show for it. Even if the only legacy you leave is, "They always tried to improve." That may be enough to help someone else reach their full potential. 

May God bless you and your family as you try to live the lives, He created you to live.

In Christ,

Sandy

Wonderful Chaos

Good morning! Monday is here again and I am excited about it. Today, I want to tell you about some of the things happening in my life since last Monday.

Renovations!!

About last Wednesday, our Contractor who has been coordinating work on the outside of our house told us it was time to start work inside. Well, it has been go go go, ever since. Right now my kitchen is unusable. We are having to move everything in the house to make way for painting and new flooring.  Thankfully, my Mother and Father-in-Law live close by, so we have a place to live, for the next several days. Some of the painting has begun.  My cabinets have been painted and some of the walls primed, but the painter plans to be back today and the flooring people are supposed to come Tuesday or Wednesday.  There is plenty left to do and it is hard work, but I am really excited about all the changes.

Our house was built in the 60's, and there had been very little updated since then. We have been in the house for five years, so I am really happy to see the end of the worn, broken and outdated parts of our home.

Here some pictures of our wonderful chaos:

So, you can see the house is a disaster, but it is all going to be worth it, when it is done and we see our planning and dreaming come to fulfillment.  Life is like that. We may have hopes and dreams, but they are rarely ever realized without hard work and perseverance. This renovation project did not start happening overnight. It has been at least 2 years of making plans, finding a good contractor, working out the finances, making lists of priorities, etc., etc.  My dream of being an Author, is taking much more work, than just writing the story, too, but it is worth it to me. 

If you have a dream, don't give up.  If it's worth doing, it's worth working for.  If its God's will for you, then trust Him to help you accomplish your goal.  If it's not God's will, then you'll be wasting your time.  So, make sure you are seeking God's will for your life.

I have talked about my efforts to declutter and organize my house. Although, this mess and mixing up of my things, may seem like a derailment.  I think it will actually be a blessing.  I will hopefully be able to declutter and organize everything, before I put it away. It may take awhile, but I am excited about the prospect of putting my house back together better than it was. 

I mentioned last week, that I planned to enter a short story contest.  Well, with everything that started happening at home, I was unable to finish on time.  I do have a good start on it, though, so I found another short story contest that is open until December 10th. Hopefully, I can make that deadline.  I'm not making any promises, though. Also, I am still working on my proposals. I want to send them off before Christmas, but if I can't do it by then, it shouldn't be much longer than that.

Well, that's a glimpse of my life right now.  Good things are happening, but oh so chaotic.  I feel very blessed. Have a great week! May God bless you and your family, too.

In Christ,

Sandy

Still Thankful, Still Learning

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday with your family and friends.  Thanksgiving doesn't need to stop, though.  It should be an everyday attitude.  A thankful heart leads to positivity.  Positivity leads to productivity. Productivity leads to goals being met. Goals being met, leads to dreams come true.  If we are thankful to the Lord God, seeking His Will for our lives, He may give us new goals and new dreams, but He will help us to fulfill the purposes He created us for.

Leading up to Thanksgiving, my husband and I took a trip for his work to North Carolina.  We took a few extra days to visit family and friends.  A couple of those days were spent at a cabin in the mountains, where I had several hours of alone time.  Can anyone guess what I did?  I edited my first three chapters of my novel Hope for Charity.  Then I sent them off to two beta readers.  I then started researching how to write an Author Bio and began that.  Its harder to do, than I thought it would be. What is best for Literary Agents,  Publishers and Readers to know about me?  A good question, but no easy answer.

One of the things I read, when researching Author Bio's, was that it is good for Writer's to have won contests, so they can add their wins in the Bio...ummm...so off I go researching Writer contests.  Next thing I know, I am writing a short story, due this Friday.  Wow, am I crazy?  My plate is soooo full already, but the story came to my mind, so why not write it down? Will I win the contest?  I think I have a chance, but I am sure the competition will be fierce.  There is also another contest, where I can submit 6 of my poems.  So, if you have any favorites from the poems I have posted, I would love to know.  It might help me choose my 6 to submit. 

I am also in the process of designing my website.  I am very excited about this.  It should make finding me on all my social media sites easier and I can do some other things, I have been wanting to do, too, like start a quarterly newsletter.  I'll let you know, when its up and running.

Thanksgiving was a great time to visit and play with the family.  I actually had three Thanksgiving dinners, "Fishgiving" with my family on the Gulf Coast (can you guess what we ate?), Thanksgiving with my husband's family. Then, we had Thanksgiving dinner with all our children, their spouses and their children. Guess who has some more extra weight to lose..., if we didn't have so many great cooks, in the family, I wouldn't be facing this problem. 😄

Well, time to get to work. May God Bless you and your family. Thanks for stopping by!


In Christ,


Sandy

The Christy Award 2018-Follow-Up and Thanksgiving Message

Happy Monday Morning! I'm glad you could make it.  It seems that for some reason the last 2 week's blog posts were seen by very few of you.  So, here are the links, if you missed seeing them. 

October 29,2018   November 5, 2018

Warning: The balanced life post was a tad (majorly) too long, so you may want to read that one in bite size pieces.  (I am working on improving my wordiness.)

Last week, I talked about @TheChristyAward2018 gala that was to take place on Nov. 7th, well it has come and gone.  I focused on the Historical Romance category and last year's winner of "Book of the Year".  

The 2018 winners, for those categories are...

Drum roll please:

The winner of #TheChristyAward2018, in the genre of Historical Romance is:

The Lacemaker

by Laura Frantz 

(Revell/Baker Publishing Group)

Congratulations #laurafrantz (@laurafrantz) and #Revell/BakerPublishingGroup (@Revell/BakerPublishingGroup)!!👏👏👏  Your accomplishment is worth celebrating!  🎉🎉🎉

The other ladies nominated also need to be recognized for their outstanding work:

#ToWageHerHeart by #TameraAlexander  👏👏👏 and

#ADangerousLegacy by #ElizabethCamden 👏👏👏


Writing a Novel, Editing a Novel, Getting that Novel recognized, published, marketed and known around the world is NO SMALL FEAT!  I am at the beginning of learning this process.  I have nothing but admiration for all of these women and men who accomplish this.  In fact, since I have begun to realize the massive amount of work it takes to see this dream realized, I have developed a little bit of a pet peeve, when I hear someone talk about how expensive books can be.  It can take literally years to make that book happen.  I don't think I will ever complain about the price of a book again! But I digressed, so back to the topic at hand....

The Christy Award 2018 "Book of the Year" Winner!

Drum roll please:

True to You

by Becky Wade 

(Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

Congratulations, @BeckyWade and @BethanyHouse/BakerPublishingGroup!  What an awesome accomplishment!  You must be proud to have won The Christy Award 2018 "Book of the Year".  You were chosen among so many STELLAR Authors, you must feel so honored! 🎈🎉🎈🎉👏👏👏

Knowing that these Authors are Christian Authors, I cannot neglect to say that the Lord God deserves ALL the Glory.  He is the One who blesses us with our gifts, talents, accomplishments, opportunities and triumphs.  We can celebrate the people, as long as we remember to recognize the One who made it all possible, The Lord Jesus.  Thank you, Lord, for blessing our world with these talented Writer's.

 If you are interested in the winners for the other genres, follow this link.

Before I move on, I would like to take a moment to say THANK YOU VETERANS!!! I am very thankful for you and your many sacrifices for the cause of FREEDOM!!!

Speaking of thankfulness...

Thanksgiving- In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving as a National Holiday.  The day it is on has changed a few times for various reasons over the years, but a day for Thanksgiving is still nationally recognized.  I find it interesting that we were in the middle of the Civil War, when President Lincoln made this proclamation.  When we are in the midst of difficult situations, even as difficult as a war, God is still good and He deserves to be thanked for all He does for us.  Everyone in this world, whether they believe or not, experience some sort of blessings every day of their lives.  We all too often complain about the bad, but forget to be thankful for the good.  Thanksgiving Day is not Turkey Day, we may eat Turkey, but if that is all that day means to you, then I highly recommend you count your blessings and give credit to the One who deserves it, The Lord God Almighty.

Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation

On October 3, 1863, in the third fall of the Civil War, President Lincoln issued a proclamation:

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, …, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him …, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

President Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation, published on July 15, 1863.

Library of Congress image

President Lincoln's words are applicable even today, these many years later.  I pray we will all take them to heart, this Thanksgiving and always.

May God bless you and your family this Thanksgiving.  

In Christ,

Sandy

P.S.

Next Monday, I plan to take the week off in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday.  So, no new blog next week, but if you really miss me, go catch up on some old posts you may have missed.

"Excellence in Christian Fiction"-The Christy Awards 2018

Good Monday morning!  I hope you are all well and ready for the week ahead.  I want to jump right into our subject today, The Christy Awards 2018.  The Awards Gala is coming up in just a couple days.

November 7, 2018 at 7 pm
Lipscomb University, Nashville

Some of you may not know what I'm talking about.  Here is a quote from The Christy Award website:    

"Since 1999, The Christy Awards have honored Christian novels of excellence, imagination, and creativity.

The Christy Award™ is designed to nurture and encourage creativity and quality in the writing and publishing of fiction written from a Christian worldview and showcase the diversity of genres.

The Award is named for Catherine Marshall’s enduring bestselling novel, Christy, published in 1967 and inspiring a continuing book series and a CBS television series starring Kellie Martin. The novel was released in 2017 in a 50th anniversary legacy edition by Gilead Publishing in partnership with Kregel Publications."

As you see, winning #theChristyAwards is a major honor.  Even being nominated for this award is an honor.  The nominated Authors have been chosen for a specific published novel.  This is not an award encompassing an Authors whole career.

Because I am a Historical Romance Writer, I want to focus on the Historical Romance books nominated.  Check out the website, if you have a different genre that is more to your taste. You may want to see which ones in your favorite genre have been nominated.  I personally will want read the three chosen in my category and also the one that wins Book of the Year.  Here is the website to see all the nominations.

The nominations for  Historical Romance Fiction are:

Out of these three Authors, @tameraalexander is the one I "know" best.  She has been a long time favorite of mine.  I definitely recommend her books.  That being said, I am sure that @elizabethcamden and @laurafrantz are both deserving of the honor of their nominations as well. Having had the chance to meet so many Authors at the #acfw2018 conference, seeing how they help each other and cheer each other on, I am sure that these three ladies will be happy for whomever receives this award.

Meet the Authors:

#ElizabethCamden

From her website: 

Short Biography-

"Elizabeth Camden is a research librarian at a small college in central Florida. Her novels have won the coveted RITA and Christy Awards. She has published several articles for academic publications and is the author of four nonfiction history books. Her ongoing fascination with history and love of literature have led her to write inspirational fiction. Elizabeth lives with her husband near Orlando, Florida."

Her nominated novel:

A Dangerous Legacy by Elizabeth Camden (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) 

You can find out more about her book and how to purchase it here.

#laurafrantz

From her website: 

"Laura Frantz is a Christy Award finalist and the ECPA bestselling author of several books, including The Frontiersman’s Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, The Colonel’s Lady, The Mistress of Tall Acre, A Moonbow Night, and The Ballantyne Legacy series. She lives and writes in a log cabin in the heart of Kentucky."

Her nominated novel:

The Lacemaker by Laura Frantz (Revell/Baker Publishing Group)

You can find out more about her book and how to purchase it here.

#tameraalexander

From her website: 

"Tamera Alexander is a USA Today bestselling author and one of today's most popular writers of inspirational historical romance. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, not far from the Southern mansions that serve as the backdrop for many of her critically-acclaimed novels."

Her nominated novel:

To Wager her Heart by Tamera Alexander (Zondervan)

You can find out more about her book and how to purchase it here:

So, there you have it, the nominations for The Christy Awards 2018 in the category of Historical Romance.  The winners should be announced November 7, 2018.  I plan to let you know who won in the Historical Romance category and who won the award for Christy Book of the Year next Monday.

One more Author that should be mentioned, is last year's Christy Book of the Year winner: Charles Martin.  Congratulations to him for his win last year!  I am looking forward to reading his book, also.

#charlesmartin

http://charlesmartinbooks.com/about

Long Way Gone by Charles Martin (Thomas Nelson) 

You can find out more about his book and how to purchase it here.

Congratulations to all @TheChristyAwards2018 nominees.  👏👏👏  To be part of such an amazing group of Authors, is quite an honor.  I pray the Lord God will use each of you, your work, your testimonies, to bring Him much glory.  

Old Business:

Last week, I failed to mention the winner of our contest to see who would win #JodieWolfe 's ebook To Win Her Heart. Congratulations to Kathryn on your win! I plan to contact you soon, to get your information to Jodie so she can get you your new ebook.  🎉🎉🎉

I hope you all come back next week and maybe bring a friend. 😀 May God bless you and your family.

In Christ,

Sandy