The truth behind the fiction...

So if you’re new to this conversation we’re talking about a writing contest I’ve entered. But what I don’t think most of you realize is that this whole thing is way more than just a contest.

In reality God is dragging me kicking and screaming into the world of fiction writing. For the past year and a half we’ve had the following conversation about 2-3 times a day:

God: Write the book.

Me: Nope. Writing a book is a dumb idea.

God: Really?

Me: Let’s say I do manage to find the time to wrangle 100,000 words into a somewhat coherent plot. Trying to break into the YA lit industry is next to impossible. Everyone knows that.

God: Tell me I can’t use you to publish a work of fiction. Tell. Me. I. Can’t.

Me: Ugh.  I hate it when You say that.

God: I know. Write the book and I’ll stop saying it.

Me: (eye roll)

The reality of the situation is that God has been pursuing me with elements of fiction for longer than I’d like to admit. Every single day something random jumps out at me and begs to be worked into a plotline. Yesterday it was a piece of string on the kitchen floor. Today it was the goofy faces my daughters were making at dinner.

My family and I have taken to discussing plot ideas around the dinner table on a regular basis. Plot ideas for books I don’t want to write.

I have pages and pages of notes on character ideas, setting ideas and the like that are all waiting for me to turn them into something intelligible.  I like to pretend these pages don’t really exist. But they do.

I have characters that follow me around and whisper in my ear. They beg and plead, “we have a story to tell the world, and we want you to hear it first. Won’t you please listen for a moment?”

I’ve often wondered if this is what it feels like to be crazy. To be followed by invisible people who don’t realize they aren’t real.

And I secretly wish that someone would tell me my work is horrible so I have ammunition for this dumb argument I’m having with God about the book I don’t want to write, and the books that will surely come after it. But no one will tell me that. So I’m left to argue with God by myself.

So what’s really happening here is that God has pushed me (completely against my will) to the brink of a life changing doorway. The doorway to something bigger than myself.

But in order to pull this off, I need your votes. Because that’s the way the game is played this time around.

So if you believe in a God who does crazy things (like pursue people with fictional characters) I need your vote.

If you believe in a God who says Tell Me I Can’t. I need your vote.

And if you can’t find it in your heart to vote for me and my crazy schemes, will you please, please pray that God would tell these dad-gummed characters to leave me alone already. Because He’s sort of ignoring my pleas.

Thanks. Here’s the link again. Read my submission, I'm #2, but my  friend Suzanne is #7 and you should vote for her too. There's still time to get your votes in for both of us, so hop to it already...

Or the email address that you can also send a vote to: thequestfortruthbooks (a) gmail (dot) com

But what of the children...

So I shared a bit earlier this week about a writing contest I’ve entered. In my entry a thief has kidnapped the general’s children and instead of acting on his first impulse, Caligulus seeks wisdom from the Table of Elders about the best way to address the situation.

But what of the children? Here’s a little bonus scene that I cut out of my submission that I thought you might enjoy. 

Alexander shifted his position slightly trying to peak through a crack between planks in the solid oak door.  He rapped on it twice, listening to the heavy thunk, thunk sound his knuckles made as they made contact with the door. He traced the square outline of the tiny opening they’d used to pass his breakfast through an hour ago. He was afraid of what was on the other side of that door. He knew he shouldn’t be, but he couldn’t help it.

He turned his attention back to the slumbering form that shared his cell. She looked so tiny there, lying on a pile of hay like a little field mouse. But he wasn’t fooled. His little sister Ellery was anything but a tiny rodent, all cowering and scared. She might be small for her age, but she had enough personality to fill ten stadiums. Maybe twenty. The people who roamed the hallways were wise to keep a strong lock on that door; lest his sister escape and give them a piece of her mind.

He smiled to himself as he imagined the moment where his sister finally came face to face with her captors. How her fury would lick at them like a flame left unchecked; blistering their eyelids and singeing loose strands of hair.

But if she wasn’t afraid of them, then he certainly wasn’t either. He was older after all. Not much older, but enough. Enough to make him feel like he needed to watch over her. Keep her from killing herself with all her stupid stunts.

Boy she’d gotten them in deep this time, hadn’t she? Up to their necks in who knew what? He had no idea how they’d gotten themselves locked up, or where they even were. Aside from being on the wrong side of a locked jail cell door, that part was a bit obvious.

 Go vote for me here.

(leave a comment in the comment section)

 I’m number 2. And while you’re there, vote for number 7 also, because the writer for that segment is my pal Suzanne. 

or if you don't want to wade through all those comments you can also drop a line with your votes to 

thequestfortruthbooks (a) gmail (dot) com.

More freebies from The Quest for Truth

So last week, my friends at AOI had a billion and one freebies for you, this week, another Focus on the Family author has more literary goodness to share with you. As he attempts to promote his newest book Unleash, our friend Brock Eastman has given me all sorts of special offers and stuff that's just plain cool.

So if you were here yesterday, you learned about the 99 cent promo price for the kindle version of the first book in the series Taken. Did you download that yet? The offer's only good for a few more hours, so hop to it already.

Today we have another little freebie to share. Well. Actually we have two or three. Spoiled rotten I tell you.

Anyway.

Today I have an author video to share with you. My oldest got a kick out of seeing and hearing a real author talk about his work. I rather enjoyed learning more of the story behind why the author chose to write what he wrote. Good stuff.  

How bout a fun promo video for the first book Taken. Loved the fun artwork on this one.

That was fun. What else was there. Oh yes.

Would you believe I have a 5 chapter preview ready for you to download. Seriously? I'm thinking order the book first before you download the freebie, so when your kid gets to the cliff hanger that's likely at the end of the segment you'll be prepared. So clever those marketing people.

The Quest for Truth - Unleash, and a bargain.

If you've been around this blog for awhile you know I'm sort of a dork when it comes to children's literature. I kind of haven't read a book written for grown ups in um. Hmm. Forever. And you also know how much I love passing on the books / series that are worth handing to your kids (you're so very welcome).

So one of the series that I've loved over the last few years is the Quest for Truth, by Brock Eastman. We read the first book in the series, and also the second one. Now I'm so thrilled to share with you the third book in the series, Unleash.

Here's a sneaky peeky:

Claws raised, mouth open, it was coming for her!

The Wikk kids’ quest unleashes fresh courage and new adventures. Now working as a team, the kids face their greatest dangers yet: a plundered planet, lies, betrayal, and fierce lizards that want to eat them all! Facing their fears and searching for answers, Oliver and Tiffany slip into a high-security laboratory . . . meanwhile Mason, Austin, and Obbin battle Corsair pirates and make a shocking discovery! Will they be able to unlock the truth about Creator and take the next step? Will you?

THE QUEST FOR TRUTH series follows the four Wikk kids in their desperate race to find the mysterious planet Ursprung and stop the Übel renegades from misusing its long-lost secrets. Ancient cities, treacherous villains, high-tech gadgets, the Phoenix—encounter all these and more on this futuristic, interplanetary adventure.

We were invited to join the publicity team for this series, so over the next few days I'll have a handful of exclusive offers and freebies for you, my loyal subjects. (Isn't that so darned cool??) I get all the good hook ups. I know.

Ready for your first promo? Here you go!

Until Tuesday at midnight you can download the kindle version of Taken (the first book in the series) for a whoppin 99 cents. Dude. Buy a cheap cup of coffee (ew?) or an action packed thriller your youngster will devour?

In this house we call that a no-brainer.

My oldest and I both wrote a review for this one a while back. Check it here.

Here's the download.

Summer service toolkits for you!

So this week our friends at Adventures in Odyssey have the major hook up going on for families that are called to serve their community.

As a reward for a lucky family, we have the first three books from the Imagination Station ready to giveaway (lucky dog!) have you entered to win yet? Your chances of winning are still really sweet! Check out the details for that here

But wait, there's more!

So today we're talking about the summer service toolkit that AIO has put together. I almost overlooked this little nugget and threw it in the tail end of a different post as a little blurb. But then I looked at it.

A little blurb would not do this puppy justice, so it gets it's own post.

So this FREE resource is chocked full of stories, activities and lessons that all center around service. I honestly can't believe they're giving this away. Go print one out for your kids before they realize they should be charging us for this goodness. Here's the link - Summer Service Toolkit

I made a screen grab of the top half of the table of contents just so you could get a little peek-see of this serious goodness. Just incase you aren't already

sold :)

So hey, did you enter the giveaway for the Imagination Station books yet? Well, what are you waiting for?? I want to give you something good already!! Leave me a comment about how your family has served or is planning to serve this summer. Get to it already!

Unleashing imagination

Children are spending more and more time in front of TVs, iPads, computers, and video games. That doesn’t leave much room for kids to dream up their own visual images—like the ones that fill their minds when they hear a great story! Rather than passively receiving images, kids actively engage in making images themselves when they hear a good story. Their imaginations are enriched and stimulated, and the material becomes more personal and memorable.

This summer, Adventures in Odyssey encourages kids to write their OWN stories, as they join in ACTS: A Call to Serve! AIO is helping children use their imaginations to serve their family, community, and world this summer—maybe by sending a care package to a missionary or baking cookies for the local fire department. Check out www.whitsend.org/acts for details and a chance to win fabulous prizes, including a mission trip with a parent to Costa Rica!

More important than prizes are the stories your child will tell about the creative ways they served others, and how they grew as a result. And what they come up with really might change the world!

Looking for inspiration? Check out this story of how one child used his creativity to make a world of difference:  

Fourteen-year-old Matthew, a dedicated Adventures in Odyssey fan and natural tech whiz, was inspired by a trip to the Apple store to create a smartphone app for his church. Since then, he has created 21 apps for different ministries, including his local pregnancy resource center, Joni and Friends (an international ministry for people with disabilities), and even an “Adventures in Odyssey Fan News” app! Matthew used his God-given talents and imagination to bless others through technology. Which of your kid’s unique gifts are waiting to be unleashed for God’s use?

Oh, and have you heard? I have a super geeked awesome-sauce give away to share with you this week. You have until friday to enter to win the first three books in the AIO Imagination station series! Details here!

A call to service - giveaway from Adventures in Odyssey

So how is everyone doing in their acts of services so far this summer? Anyone have any service opportunities they'd like to share with us?

So if you haven't already heard, this summer my kids and I are doing this really fantastic service program through Focus on the Family. Last month's theme was Discover. You can read about the the joy your children will discover when they choose to serve here. (And be sure to check out all the fantastic freebies from our friends at Adventures in Odyssey)

This month's theme is imagination! Tomorrow we'll discuss the benefits of using your imagination and creativity as you serve.

But today I'd just like to make an announcement. A shout for joy and tap dance across the stage kind of announcement. I've had such a hard time keeping this one secret.

Ready?

M'kay. Here goes.

My beautiful and gracious friends at Adventures in Odyssey have given me not 1, not 2 but 3(!!!) books to give away. Killer right??

Squee!!

I have the first three books from the AIO Imagination Station series to give away to one lucky reader. We've read them, we loved them. We tap dance every time they give us the heads up that another one has come out.

I'm not the type of blogger who's giveaways come with a catch. You don't have to like my facebook fanpage to qualify (but you could if you'd like! Hello unabashed plea for new friends.)

Ahem.

The only thing you have to do to qualify is leave me a happy little comment about the creative ways you and your family have served your community (or are planning to serve) this summer.

Want to more know about these books? Check out our thoughts on Voyage with the Vikings, Attack at the Arena, and Peril in the Palace.

A moment to linger; a call to service

Last week we talked about service opportunities for kids. (I have a really fantastic list on this post if you’re new to this conversation). Anyway. The suggestion for this week’s service project was about recognizing those in the military.


Which was a very fine service idea. But we didn’t do it.

Not because we didn’t care about those who serve our country, heavens no. But because a different service opportunity presented itself.

Making encouraging cards for those affected by recent tornados.

As we prepared for our project I struggled (as we all do) to come up with words to reach out to my fellow sisters and brothers who are struggling to get back on their feet. To cope with their losses. To process the hand they’ve just been dealt.

Finally we just decided to let God speak on our behalf. He says it all better than we do anyway.

If you were affected by recent storms, just know that you’re still in our hearts and prayers. God hasn’t forgotten your pain and neither have we. When the media moves on to the next horrible tragedy we won’t. We’ll linger here, ready to listen. So will Jesus. He’s a linger-er too.

 

Adventures in Odyssey blog hop!

So this week we're taking part in a blog hop with our friends from Adventures in Odyssey. Wee! Over the last few posts we've been talking about this month's theme Discover.

Discover how much fun service can be with Adventures in Odyssey’s A.C.T.S. challenge and contest!

We've already talked about why this project makes so much sense to me as a mother attempting to raise socially aware children. And the rewards the kids can get when they sign up for such a project on this post.

Yesterday we talked about why it is so crucial for our children to practice serving others as a way to help develop appropriate self esteem.

We also chatted a bit about service project ideas and I shared an exclusive link to a free AIO radio production titled The Business of Busyness (which my kids loved).

We just wanted you to know that we are just gearing up for a summer of fun and service! Check back to learn more about June's theme of Imagination which comes with it's own fun freebies, and in July our theme will be Grow (oh yeah, did I mention more free stuff?)

Promoting Self Esteem through Social Awareness

As mamas we all want our kids to grow up to feel good about themselves and have good self esteem. At school and their little sporting events they have praise lavished upon every little effort, as we grownups attempt to make their little lives more meaningful. Sadly our efforts aren’t really encouraging our little ones to do anything meaningful, as much as we are simply just telling them how meaningful they are.


A while back a team of researchers predicted that the children of the next generation would respond positively to parents’ misguided efforts of using obscene amounts of praise to help raise children’s self esteem. That their newfound self worth would help them be filled with civic responsibility and optimism. Sadly, according to recent research, our efforts have created tiny little beings that are significantly more self-centered, depressed and disrespectful towards authority.

Oops. 

 This article was shared with my readers at Today's Mama. If you'd like to read the rest of the article, you can check it out here...

Family service project ideas

Hi friends!
There was so much to tell you about this summer project that Adventures in Odyssey has planned that I thought I'd break it up a bit and give you time to process each fantastic little nugget of possibility.
So last week we talked a bit about the scope of the project, today I'm going to share some more resources that they have available to help you as you serve your community. I particularly enjoyed this list of service ideas:

May 20: Serve Your Community- Go to a local park and pick up the trash or volunteer to plant flowers.

May 27:  Serve Your World- Take a field trip to a place that recognizes fallen soldiers.  Learn about the importance of the place and time of history.  Pray for our current military and their families serving around the world.

June 2- Serve As A Family- Host a garage sale at your house and then donate the money to a good cause.

June 9- Serve Your Family-- Wash your dad's car as part of his Father's Day present!

June 16- Serve Your Community-- Make some simple cards and deliver them to a local nursing home. Most folks would love a visit!

June 23- Serve Your World--Send a care package to a missionary serving in the world.

June 30-- Serve As a Family- Host an ice cream party or BBQ for your neighborhood.

View the complete list here!
They also have a free audio presentation of the AIO Service episode called the Business of Busyness that you can only find here.

So who's in!

A call to serve - a summer project that counts

I don’t know about you, but as I look forward to my summer vacation with my kids I’m seeing an awful lot of white space. A glaring, in your face, void of whitespace that is screaming to be filled with activity. While my natural inclination is to compulsively sign my kids up for every single summer camp the YMCA offers, the smart part of my brain wants me to look at the big picture for our summer.

Do I want busy children or am I striving for engaged children? Children not busily carted from one place to another in the interest of keeping my house in order, but children engaged in projects and activities that make a difference in the lives of others.

My lovely friends over at Adventures in Odyssey, with Focus on the Family, recently contacted me to share a free summer program that they have arranged titled A.C.T.S. (A Call to Service) challenge and contest. Here’s how it works:

This summer, Adventures in Odyssey is joining with Christian bookstores across the country, inviting kids to participate in a Summer of Service. They’re promoting the biblical message, “When you serve, everybody wins,” encouraging kids to serve their families, their communities, and their world. Whether it’s baking cookies for an elderly neighbor or putting together a care package for missionaries overseas, kids will discover that serving can be a blast!

Kids who join A.C.T.S. can pick up a service log and collect fun character stickers for hours served at participating bookstores throughout the summer, or download a serving log online at whitsend.org. At the end of the summer, kids can record and upload a short video telling how they serve and why they’d like to become an Adventures in Odyssey Ambassador.

A hundred winners will get the brand new AIO Album, and after online voting, two grand prize winners (one boy and one girl) will get to travel on an exciting Good-Goers Mission Based Adventure trip to another country with a parent! The out-of-country destination will be announced on a live podcast May 22—hosted by AIO actors Katie Leigh (Connie) and Chris Anthony (Chris)—which you can watch at whitsend.org/acts.

In the days to come I’ll share more information about the projects that we have set up, so check back for more details.

Stuck, the movie: because every child deserves a family.

I avoided this movie for a long time. I knew it would cause me to tiptoe through some raw emotional terrain that was easier to ignore. Much easier to stay in my own little world of hostas and spelling tests than it is to think about flawed international legistlation.

But I knew for the sake of my fellow adoptive Mamas I couldn’t turn a blind eye forever. It was my duty to link arms with them and say this is not ok with me, and it shouldn’t be ok with you either.

If you are unfamiliar with the film Stuck it documents the real stories of families bogged down by the bureaucratic crap associated with international adoption. Families who are waiting years while children slide further and further into despair and hopelessness.

Our own process with Max took about 18 months and cost over $45,000. As far as our story is concerned, the waiting was cut short considerably by the fact that we came into the process requesting a specific child, so we didn’t have to go through the selection period. But as far as the finances… Eek. No, there was not a discount for an older child with a traumatic social history. The kind of child that no one else will ever want. He was just as expensive as an adorable, gurgling infant. Nice, right?

Anyway, back to the movie. It’s not so much on the “hey let’s throw out all the safety measures and hand these children away to whoever wants them,” as much as it is “why did it take 18 months for this piece of paper to move from this office down the hall to that office”

Why do 90% of families who pursue international adoption walk away empty handed? Why are these adoptions down 60% in less than 10 years? Why does this need to be so darned complicated?

Good stinking question.

If politicians want to bicker about who is more official than whom, fine. Go ahead. But don’t use homeless children as your pawns. They are lives worth fighting for, not political playing cards.

Are you mad yet? I am. Does it show?

Max’s best friend Igor is still in Russia. After a year and a half, Max still wrestles with grief over the loss of his buddy. Sadly Igor’s new mommy lives about an hour and a half from me. She has his room all decked out with Sponge Bob accessories. Sadly these boys will never have a sleepover in that room because according to Russian legislation it is now ILLEGAL.

What?

This is what I’m saying.

So if you’re still with me, you’re probably just as pissed off as I am. Good. I hope you are. Let me just say on behalf of adopting families across the world, thank you for caring. If you would like to invest a little more time into this calamity you can go sign this petition. If this topic really gets under your skin like it does mine, you can invest a bit more energy here.

 Igor and all the other stuck children on this planet want me to say thank you on their behalf.