Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Meaningful Monday Thought.....

Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.

Henry David Thoreau

Serials and Scenarios ~ The Me Project ~ Kathi Lipp

Kick Start Living Your Dream -
The Me Project - 21 Days to Living the Life You’ve Always Wanted
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
ISBN-10: 0736929665, ISBN-13: 978-0736929660
Release Date: February 1, 2011
Paperback: 224 pages, Retail: $12.99

Summary

(San Jose, CA) Has that rush to make (and break) New Year’s resolutions already waned? According to Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, taking small steps every day will not only help you stay committed to your goal, but will also help you ultimately achieve that goal when obstacles come up. Author Kathi Lipp wants you and your friends to live out those dreams—and have some fun along the way.

As women, we forget the goals and dreams of our younger years. The busyness of everyday life gets in the way. To-do lists replace goals. The Me Project provides women with fun and creative ways to bring back the sense of purpose and vitality that comes with living out the plans and dreams God has planted in our hearts. Kathi Lipp’s warm tone and laugh-out-loud humor motivates women to take daily steps toward intentional goals. The end result? We get back our lives and enjoy living in the confidence of a purposeful life in spite of our chaotic schedules.

This handy guide coaches women to do one simple thing toward achieving our goals each day for three weeks. A woman experiencing the exhilaration of a rediscovered life offers more as a wife, mother, friend, volunteer, career woman.

Finding the balance between living day-to-day with purpose while pursuing the passions God has placed in our hearts is a delicate pursuit. In this refreshing, insightful book, Kathi lays out a doable plan that makes sense and helps make our God-given dreams a reality. Never stop dreaming, because women who dare to dream do make the world a better place.
—Jean Blackmer
author of MomSense: A Common Sense Guide to Confident Mothering
Publishing Manager, MOPS International www.MOPS.org

Kathi Lipp is a busy conference and retreat speaker, currently speaking each year to thousands of women throughout the United States. She is the author of The Husband Project and The Marriage Project, serves as food writer for Nickelodeon, and has had articles published in several magazines, including Today’s Christian Woman and Discipleship Journal. Kathi and her husband, Roger, live in California and are the parents of four teenagers and young adults. For more information visit her website: www.kathilipp.com




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Comment at Scrambled Dregs to be entered into the random drawing (one randomly chosen comment per blog will be entered in the drawing).

My Review:

I hadn't read Kathi Lipp before I received the review copy of The Me Project. Kathi is an engaging author who doesn't hide her humanity behind a glossy mask of perfection.

I began reading this "how-to" because I'm drawn to the books that are designed to help me to become a better me. At first the Me Project came across as self-help more so that God-influenced. But as I got into the nitty-gritty of the different daily projects I began to feel the pull of conviction and challenge to stop and ask God what He would like me to work on, and to take an inventory of my dreams.

I will continue to work on this process. I did choose to adapt her initial suggestion to think toward a tighter time frame with a shorter to-do list. I think Kathi wouldn't have an issue with my choice. I am not completely through the book yet, and am still mulling over which 21 Day project will be my focus. If you looking for a little push or for a project to do with a few friends, the Me Project would be a terrific resource.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Wisdom like Snowflakes to You

Advice is like snow; the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.

Samuel Coleridge

Serial and Scenarios ~ Operation Bonnet ~ Kimberly Stuart

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Operation Bonnet David C. Cook; New edition (February 1, 2011) by Kimberly Stuart



ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kimberly says:

I am a writer of comedic fiction, and would like to suggest that you laugh regularly when reading my books. Let’s also try for one to two teary moments. If you are crying more than that, you don’t understand my sense of humor and should move on to another author.



I grew up in a book-loving home. Actually, that’s not entirely accurate. My mom loves books. My dad loves to read the first chapters of books and then make us all listen as he recites his favorite passages. I, however, enjoy reading books in their entirety and came into writing as a result of book-love. After earning two fancy degrees in education and Spanish, I promptly let the thinking part of my brain take a breather and instead became pregnant. (I’m sure a lot of other things happened between early literacy and pregnancy but I don’t really remember any of that. If you also have shared your uterus with another human, you understand.)



In an effort to author a book that would entertain my sassy, irreverent, breast-feeding/drooping friends, I wrote my first novel, Balancing Act. People were so nice to me after that, I decided to continue with writing. Also, I can’t craft, knit, or scrapbook, so what else was a nice, Christian girl to do?



In addition to writing books to make my friends laugh and cry, I observe the chaos at the home I share with my unfailingly supportive husband and three offspring. We’re doing our best and so far, no one’s been to prison.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Twenty-year-old Nellie Monroe has a restless brilliance that makes her a bit of an odd duck. She wants to be a private investigator, even though her tiny hometown offers no hope of clients. Until she meets Amos Shetler, an Amish dropout carrying a torch for the girl he left behind.



So Nellie straps on her bonnet and goes undercover to get the dish. But though she’s brainy, Nellie is clueless when it comes to real life and real relationships. Soon she’s alienated her best friend, angered her college professor, and botched her case.



Operation Bonnet is a comedy of errors, a surprising take on love, and a story of grace.



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



Watch the book video trailer:







My Review:

I love a novel that makes me laugh and makes me pause at moments of poignancy in between laughs. Operation Bonnet is a delightful story that does just that. I would not have picked up the book based on the cover or the title. I'm not a fan of the Amish trend in Christian publishing. However, another reviewer recommended it to me, suggesting that she thought I just might love it and she was right.

Kimberly Stuart has written previous novels that I've either liked or liked a lot. Operation Bonnet blows them all out of the water and is one I loved.

Nellie is a twenty-year-old crazy-haired girl genius with a hunger for private investigating and a sacrificial love for her Nona. Nellie works at a golf shop, studies PI techniques and takes care of her Nona while her parents travel the world. Her best friend Matt helps her score sweet spying tools and listens to her rants. Nona is losing it, but it's slow enough and the spells are infrequent enough that Nellie thinks she can hold off the inevitable. Her life is full. Rich? Fulfilling? Not quite because she lives in a town where crime is rare, stealth is rarely required, and folks are pretty decent. Boring. Then Amos, the used-to-be Amish boy comes to town. He is hired by Tank, the golf club owner, for the annual project, this year, a mini-golf course. Amos is a walking culture shock with a concern. One that he thinks he could hire Nellie, P.I. to look into. She only will need to infiltrate the tight-knit Amish community to help him out. One that he has been firmly shunned from.

Nellie enters a stretching period where she helps, in a backwards, inside-out and upside-down sort of way. And in the process she grows up a little bit and finds out a lot about life.

I loved this novel. Charming, sweet, funny, sweet, touching, did I say sweet, and interesting. If you read one novel this year, I'm thinking you could do far worse than this one.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ A Word to the Wise ...

and Procrastinators....

(But I don't know any of those...)

The reward of a thing well done is to have done it. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Serials and Scenarios ~ Giveaway....

Life Ready Woman

Shaunti Feldhahn MomLife Today is thrilled to announce that Shaunti Feldhahn will be joining their team as a regular contributor to the MomLife Today website and blog! MomLife Today is also helping to promote Shaunti's latest book, Life Ready Woman, by giving away 2 Weekend To Remember Gift Packs and much more! Weekend To Remember Get-Aways offer marriage-changing principles that you can take home and apply to your daily lives to strengthen your marriage. Whether you are newly engaged or have been married for 50 years, you will find value in the tools provided at the getaway. Don't miss this opportunity to receive a conference registration for you and your spouse ... and more! MomLife Today will be randomly selecting NINE lucky recipients to receive one of these great gifts: 2 Weekend To Remember Get Away conference registrations for two. $259 value each pair (Two couples will receive this.) 2 Life Ready Woman DVD packs. $149 value each (Two different people will receive this gift.) 5 The Life Ready Woman books. (Book will go to 5 people.) To enter click one of the icons below then tell your friends. Winner will be announced on March 2nd on the MomLife Today website. MomLife Today provides encouragement, advice and resources to help YOU with your daily Momlife! Because...every MOMent counts! Want to help Spread the Word and enter to win a $30 gift certificate to Amazon.com - blog about the contest, add the blog button to your blog sidebar or share it on Facebook or twitter. Email amy@litfusegroup.com for the html codes. Sample Facebook post: Shaunti Feldhahn is joining MomLife Today! Find out more and enter to receive Weekend To Remember Gift Packs! http://www.momlifetoday.com/2011/02/shaunti-feldhahn%E2%80%99s-life-ready-woman-and-a-giveaway/ Sample Tweet: @shauntifeldhahn is joining @MomLifeToday - find out more and enter to win Weekend to Remember gift packs! http://ow.ly/3ZJ5m Find out more about Shaunti and her book below.

About Life Ready Woman

Thriving in a Do It All World Are you a 'Doing it all' or 'Do what matters' woman? Whether a stay at home or working mom, an airplane-hopping executive, an empty-nester caring for multiple generations or a single juggling high demands of career and personal life, today's fast-paced modern world leaves women gasping for balance. We as modern Christian women want to look to the Bible for guidance on how to manage our lives -- but because the world of women looks so different today than it did when the Bible was written, it is hard to find chapter and verse that seems to apply to our situation today. Thankfully, God has given us exactly that timeless, unchanging guidance for how to find peace, clarity, and God's best for our lives once we know where to look! The Life Ready Woman: Thriving in a Do-It-All World, reveals a profound biblical roadmap for how each of us can find the abundant life we are longing for, rather than the stressful, torn, how-do-I-balance-it-all life we often feel like we are trying to keep up with today. Actually being a LifeReady Woman means that you are clear about your life, bold in your faith, and able to find God's best for you, and the end result will be that you not only survive but thrive in our do-it-all world. God has given every wonderfully unique woman different skills and abilities, different desires, and different temperaments -- and every woman around the planet and through the ages is certainly living in different circumstances. But no matter what a woman's life looks like, the Bible says that God has an individual mission and plan that He's carefully designed for each of us. And He wants us to find it. Starting January 2011, The Life Ready Woman and the Life Ready Woman Video Series will help every wonderfully unique woman to thrive as she identifies and courageously pursues God's unique design and callings for her. LifeReady Woman puts you on a roadmap to make decisions that will lead to relief, delight, and fulfillment instead of regret. Find out more about the LifeReady Woman book and study

About the Author

Shaunti Feldhahn is a former Wall Street analyst and the best-selling author of For Women Only and now The Life Ready Woman with Robert Lewis. These resources investigate and illuminate those easy-to-miss truths that have the greatest power to transform lives. Shaunti is also the mom of two active young kids, and wife to attorney and entrepreneur Jeff. In the middle of juggling work deadlines, soccer runs, church activities, business opportunities, field trips, and time with her husband, she has seen personally how vital it is to have a biblical blueprint for life balance. For more information about Shaunti, please visit her website at www.shauntifeldhahn.com.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ tiny but in the hands of the Almighty

Storms have a way of teaching what nothing else can.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Wacky Wednesday Video

My days often consist of tight or cramped things. Too close to payday, too "bonded" with folks who are a bit of a pinch. Schedules too tight.... well, you get it. But none of what I experience comes anywhere close to this crazy pinch!

Serials and Scenarios ~ Steve Schaefer's Living in the Overlap

Living in the Overlap by Steve Schaefer Did Jesus already establish His kingdom on earth? " Living in the Overlap explores the challenges and benefits of living in a kingdom that is both "already" and "not yet." If you want a deeper understanding of Jesus' kingdom message, and if you want to explore the kingdom's implications for your life today, let this provocative and enlightening book be your guide. The kingdom of God was the central message of Jesus, yet so few Christians understand what it means to live in that kingdom. Many of us think of the kingdom of God arriving with the second coming, but Steve Shaefer asserts that Jesus already established His kingdom on earth. Some of the blessings from the coming kingdom are available to us now, while we live in the overlap between the establishment of the kingdom and when it comes to its fullness. Those blessings can help us walk by faith, deal with temptation, and love others.

About Steve Schaefer Because of his fascination with Scripture and its message, Steve Schaefer has repeatedly explored the land of the Bible. His experiences include hot-air ballooning over eerie Cappadocian rock formations in Turkey, trekking through the ancient "rose red" city of Petra in Jordan, sloshing through Hezekiah's serpentine aqueduct in Israel, and scaling Jebel Musa (traditionally identified as Mount Sinai) in Egypt. But he now invites readers to embark on a different kind of biblical adventure in his new book, Living in the Overlap: How Jesus' Kingdom Proclamation Can Transform Your World. Steve holds a Master of Arts degree in Biblical Studies from Regent University's School of Divinity. He has traveled the globe as a Managing Producer in the International Programming Department of CBN WorldReach, and is a popular speaker and teacher. Reviews If you have ever prayed, "Thy Kingdom come,..." then Living in the Overlap is must reading for you. Terry Meeuwsen Co-host, The 700 Club Ample Scripture, careful explanations and helpful illustrations make this book painfully convicting, yet delightful to read. Pastors and disciples will welcome this book. David Mundt CBA Retailers + Resources magazine My Review is not ready yet. But it's on my pile and caught my interest.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Valentine Greetings

Great attitudinal gift idea for your Valentine. : )

When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.

William Arthur Ward

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ God Sighting

I experienced a sweet and weird God moment yesterday. A woman, whom I've not had a comfortable relationship with, and I got together for lunch. This happened because I felt like I needed to thank her for being a blessing to my family. She is one of those very spiritual women who sometimes do the uncomfortably odd things like approach someone and tell them that she feels called to pray for them. She has been one who I have felt intimidated by, for that reason, and other reasons like my own failures and the timidity that I struggle with at times.

I, because I was supposed to tell her I was grateful for her obedience, sent her a thank you note.

A couple of weeks later she told me it had caused her to experience an interesting God encounter. And if I wanted to hear about it I should let her know. So I suggested lunch.

Turns out that when she received the thank you note, she couldn't understand it. It unsettled her. And she had to spend time in prayer over that unsettledness. And when she worked through the feelings she said she felt a physical reaction and finally, a peace. But the night before we met she couldn't sleep, and she felt queasy in the morning. I, on the other hand, felt anticipation, which is weird because, like I said, our relationship is awkward at best.

As we discussed this I remembered that this note came out of a time where I was burdened to write out notes to my near dear ones. Notes telling them that I loved them and appreciated them, etc. And she came to mind as someone I owed gratitude to. While I was writing the first notes I sobbed my way through them which was weird because I didn't think I had anything to really sob about. I was dry and at peace when I got to hers. And then I didn't see her for a few weeks and so I finally put it in the mail.

Our conversation was rich and comfortable yesterday.

We crossed a barrier of miscommunication or awkward communication that we hadn't been able to cross before. After an hour of talking, my bladder started screaming at me so I asked her to excuse me. She said she could go so I could get on with my day. I asked her to wait, told her I'd like to pray with her.

When I returned we got right to it and prayed for our families, thanked God for whatever reason He was crossing our paths, and prayed for the body of Christ. I went first and she finished. Then she said that she had gotten confirmation that this was something that God was doing, and it might be something big because her lack of sleep, her unease and her nausea told her that Satan didn't want us to work through our differences. And she had known that if she prayed with me, she'd know both where I stood, and whether or not we were going to be able to walk this new path together. That I had told her I wanted to pray completely pulled all of it together for her.

And now. I'm staring out the window at melting icicles and pondering how such a massive God Who can keep planets spinning and oceans roiling, would care so much about me, and my friend's lives and our concerns. And I don't even have a clue what He's doing. What is He going to heal, restore, fix or rework? Wow. Is He Awesome or what?

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Lesson 5

5) Asking God to reveal things that don't please Him, weaknesses I'm unaware of, deceptions I live as truth....WHAM...those requests have painful consequences...at first. But the truth does set free and the truth is bedrock.

I would rather have the ugly truth than a sanitized, be-ribboned lie. And the ugly truth turns beautiful in the hands of the God of grace and mercy. His truth is worth seeking.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Lesson 4

4) Praying for someone, the kinds of prayers that ask for blessings of awareness and spiritual health, and knowledge of how big our God is...those kinds of prayers stir things up.

It's very different, and not very costly, to say, "Dear Lord, please bless so and so." So general, so little in the ripple department. After six months of focused prayer we saw relationships twist and turn as God moved in those lives. And even better, we saw God change the way we looked at things, circumstances and other people.

Prayer works. Not as a magic wand. Not exactly as we laid out on our request lists in every case, but in all situations, according to God's big-picture plan. And faithfully praying gave us the opportunity to be blessed by being involved in God's plans.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Lesson 3

3) Relationships do not need money or expensive pursuits to be relationships. Tea at home, a phone call, praying for someone, loaning them a book, reading out loud from a book, a walk in the sunshine, a drive, a quick note, speaking blessings into lives, smiles...the list is endless.

Relationships are built through time, love and connectedness. Money is icing on the cake and icing is often overkill.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Lesson 2

2) I have limited control. Basically, the only control I have is over my own choices. Not my life, not my future, not even my present. Only the choices I make. I can even make all the "right" choices and end up with the unexpected. Or I can even make "poor" choices and be blessed with things I do not deserve and have not earned.

Bottom line. I am still responsible for what I say and what I do whether it's a "reaction," planned out pro-activity, or the best choice of three not so great options.

But, God does see the full picture, the tiny details and the outcome. And I can trust Him with all of those.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Lesson 1

1) What we do today bleeds into all our tomorrows. Working out, passing up unneeded bargains, eating at home, praying for a loved one, or difficult one I should love. Every one of those choices has a cumulative effect that makes for a healthier life for me and my family. The opposite choices have an impact as well, negatively.

This reminds me of the C.S.Lewis quote. "every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that changes into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature."

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Done With this Journey and What I Learned

Interestingly but not surprisingly, the six month Cut the Crapola journey ended up being 99% about the journey and 1% about the results.

That said. I was pretty arrogant to think I could just set out to "change" anything. Sometimes change is simply choosing the better option which moves us slowly in tiny, increments of growth, towards a very distant, long-term goal.

My goals were more nebulous and less defined than the 20 somethings. Even then, six months was not enough. Overall I will say I won't be running a 5K tomorrow but could walk one and run parts, exactly where I was six months ago. My body size has remained pretty much the same, but I think my heart grew a bit. I won't be playing violin at a concert anytime soon but I have slowly and deliberately taken time to reacquaint myself with an instrument I used to hate but now regret hating. My fingers and mind are reawakening to the idea of making music, someday, if I don't give up. My bank account acts as if it didn't know there had been a budget imposed on it. But less eating out has reminded us that what is prepared at home is actually better or at least as good as what is offered at restaurants.

I will be sharing the ten major things I took away from my Cut the Crapola fast over the next few weeks.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ What Cost Hope?

^{Romans 15: 13} May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.




Once you choose hope, anything's possible. Christopher Reeve

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Focus and Blessing

Romans 15: 5-6 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.