Scribble and Scrambles ~ So Random You Might Not Even Want to Go There.

In keeping with the non-traditional random dictionary game EER has inspired at the Dregs I introduce the word...

drum roll (This is a low-budget site, kids, you expected the real deal?)

Pictact - noun/adjective - origin old norse. definition a) Viking tool resembling the modern pick axe. The difference in modern and predecessor tools was the two tusk-like appendages on either side of the axe head that were used to carve decorative "tattoos" on the side of the long boats and to easily disembowel those who got in their way during raids. b) enthusiastic slang used to encourage Viking boat hewers during the annual boat building/village destruction/ looting seminars know as the Pic and Kicks.

Okay. Lame? Blame it on the totally deteriorated condition of my gray matter.

If the definition is not enough to entertain you. Let me share a few random and bizarre sights around Iowa this week.

#1 Horrific sight. A semi turning left in one of two parallel left turning lanes. This is not in itself a concern. The fact that the driver was on his cell phone during the turn is though. SERIOUSLY. Put the stupid phone down. Could any conversation be THAT important?
#2 Strangest sight. In the bathroom stall next to me a bare foot. Completely bare. The other foot was fully clothed. In the public restroom. In November. ?
#3 Most annoying drama. All of it. Me no like drama.
#4 Most annoying behavior in someone close to me. Mine. This Martha Stewart thing is out of control. After making/baking ten items for 16 women for a 24 hour retreat I wonder why I am compelled to tweak, change and remake a recipe until it is all mine. And this is while I'm reading self-help and spiritual maturity books for review ("Oh, was I supposed to actually absorb the truth in that chapter?"). On the bright side of the little Martha ordeal is that everything tastes fabulous. Really. And the recipes that have been stretched, tweaked and rewritten are usable. I think I can leave those particular ones alone now. YAY.

That's all. If I don't stop now I'm going to fall asleep on my keyboard and either accidentally type something offensive with my bobbing and weaving face or I'm going to drool on the keyboard and electrocute myself.

Happy weekend. I'm going to enjoy it and relax if it kills me. And it might.

Serials and Scenarios ~ The Rest of Health

Seven Skills to Achieve the Life You Desire

New wellness book explores the rest of health

Dallas/ Ft. Worth, TX—Mike staggers into the emergency room, presenting what he believes are the classic signs of a heart attack. Soon his condition stabilizes, and the E. R. doctor sweeps into the room to assess Mike’s problem. Mike is not having a heart attack, but the symptoms that brought him to the hospital have been caused by something…

Mike is the main character in The Rest of Health, a new work of creative non-fiction by authors David and Sonya Cameron. As readers follow Mike’s story, it soon becomes clear that there is more to his E.R. visit than meets the eye. The Rest of Health brings readers along as Mike confronts both the areas of conflict and the neglected facets of his life. Along the way, he discovers that true health is not something that can be achieved by simply producing the right numbers (i.e., blood pressure, weight, cholesterol). Mike’s journey to total health and wellness incorporates seven steps:

1. Looking to learn

2. Transforming your thinking

3. Establishing healthy boundaries

4. Caring for your body

5. Raising your emotional I.Q.

6. Cultivating your spiritual life

7. Fine-tuning relationships

The Camerons have been working in the healthcare/mental health field for over a decade, and both have chosen career paths that involve a cross-section of the general public. David has served as a family practice physician in a community health clinic for 10 years. Sonya has over 12 years of experience in community mental health and private practice doing marriage and family counseling.

“In both of our practices, we constantly see people who view health too narrowly. Many people think of health as dropping pounds, lowering blood pressure, etc. These are all good, healthy things, but when the underlying motive is simply to look better physically, that is evidence that a patient doesn’t really understand the meaning of ‘health.’ After working with so many patients, we have seen that before a patient can make lasting changes in any area of life—and this includes physical health—they must take a step back and look at the bigger picture of their life.”


My Review:

Part story, part self-help, part therapy, The Rest of Health, is a complete prescription for rethinking your life.

Written by a married couple, a medical doctor and a licensed therapist, the book is a compilation of their experience, wisdom and faith.

The fictional account of a marriage made up of individuals with issues that collide teaches coping techniques and stress killing better choices. The integrated recipe or prescription would be enough to help the average struggler to get beyond some of the pitfalls that make for an unfulfilled life. Though those with serious issues probably won't find enough help within the pages to fix major life trauma this book can offer the answers to questions that unhappy folks may not even know to ask.

The fiction gets a bit preachy at times, and the point of view is omniscient, so as fiction goes the story is not compelling escapism. But the idea to put dry facts within a story to get points and examples across to an audience is a great idea. This book would be a great small group study.

Scribble and Scrambles ~Fresh Sight from Fresh Air

Our friends at Fresh Air shared another avenue of meeting needs.

Click on the picture and read about it.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Science and Martha Collide

We've spent the last few days enjoying sunshine and warmth. And when we aren't doing that we are chopping, slicing and dicing. (Okay, the picture implies that the dogs are involved in this as well. They are, but since they lack opposable thumbs they mostly stand and drool waiting for the next tidbit to fall.)

I'm doing my Martha Stewart thing again. Not the cleaning the closets (which need that in the worst way) but the food Martha.

I'm trying recipes like crazy and I can't leave them alone and just try them. I have to tweak them. I'm compelled to tweak them.

And I stunk at science. Which means we are eating some seriously interesting specimens of failed natural laws. But, then one will work and I then have to look at my scribbled chicken scratchy notes and decipher what I did right.

My current madness will end soon as I have a deadline. However, the closet/cupboard compulsion looms. After all, we are entering the holiday season and we will have guests.

Serials and Scenarios ~ Holy Awesome Idea ~ Batman!

Tom's Shoes fans...check this out.



Released October 1, the new Waterproof Bible is available in the NIV and KJV translation and is 100% waterproof and dirt resistant - inside and out. The pages, made from thin sheets of plastic, make the Waterproof Bible ultra-durable and tear-resistant, allowing it to outlast most any competitor. The text can even be underlined with a ballpoint pen, or marked with a dry highlighter, and not smear after being submerged in water.

“We believe every consumer benefits from the increased lifespan and durability of the Waterproof Bible. However, we are especially passionate about getting this better designed Bible into the hands of those in developing countries, where the people often face harsh environments and living conditions. Through our BOGO program, these third-world citizens will receive the same long-lasting product that our customers get, but for free,” said Bobby Bardin, co-developer of the Waterproof Bible.

For more details on the BOGO program and the Waterproof Bible, visit www.WaterproofBible.com. The first distribution partner will be The 410 Bridge, who will utilize the free Bibles in their Christmas in Kenya project. “It is interesting to think about giving Waterproof Bibles to churches in Kenya because Kenya could use so much more water. However we believe its long-lasting durability, and ability to wipe dirt and grime away, make the Waterproof Bible the best choice for the situation,” said Bardin.

Bardin & Marsee Publishing was founded in 2004 in response to the founders’ frustrations with the limitations of paper Bibles. Since that day, the company has been committed to developing high-quality, long-lasting Waterproof Bibles.

Scribbles and Scrambles - Fun With The Web

Got an e-mail forward with a bazillion pictures of celebrity look-a-likes.

This was my favorite.

The website: Totally Looks Like. Warning: I did not dig deep enough to tell if it's family friendly or not.....so don't turn kids loose on it...

Serials and Scenarios ~ A Slow Burn ~ Mary DeMuth Reviewed

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
A Slow Burn
Zondervan (October 1, 2009)
by
Mary DeMuth


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mary E. DeMuth is an expert in Pioneer Parenting. She enables Christian parents to navigate our changing culture when their families left no good faith examples to follow.

Her parenting books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture (Harvest House, 2007), Building the Christian Family You Never Had (WaterBrook, 2006), and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God (Harvest House, 2005).

Mary also inspires people to face their trials through her real-to-life novels, Watching The Tree Limbs
(nominated for a Christy Award) and Wishing On Dandelions (NavPress, 2006).

Mary has spoken at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, the ACFW Conference, the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, and at various churches and church planting ministries. She's also taught in Germany, Austria, Monaco, Italy, France, and the United States. Mary and her husband, Patrick, reside in Texas with their three children. They recently returned from breaking new spiritual ground in Southern France, and planting a church.



ABOUT THE BOOK


She touched Daisy’s shoulder. So cold. So hard. So unlike Daisy.

Yet so much like herself it made Emory shudder.

Burying her grief, Emory Chance is determined to find her daughter Daisy’s murderer—a man she saw in a flicker of a vision. But when the investigation hits every dead end, her despair escalates. As questions surrounding Daisy’s death continue to mount, Emory’s safety is shattered by the pursuit of a stranger, and she can’t shake the sickening fear that her own choices contributed to Daisy’s disappearance. Will she ever experience the peace her heart longs for?

The second book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, this suspenseful novel is about courageous love, the burden of regret, and bonds that never break. It is about the beauty and the pain of telling the truth. Most of all, it is about the power of forgiveness and what remains when shame no longer holds us captive.


Watch the video:



If you would like to read the first chapter of A Slow Burn, go HERE

My Review:

Emory Chance was a tragic character in last year's Daisy Chain. In Slow Burn, the story of Emory's loss and failures, she becomes even more tragic. Though Jed Pepper was a character who made my heart ache, Emory was one who frustrated and challenged me.
Mary DeMuth creates characters who behave in awful and ugly ways yet as she reveals the deepest, ugliest parts and pieces of them, she manages to do so with grace so that I found myself filled with pity for Emory and hoping that she'd escape from her emotional prisons.

The subject matter covered includes abuse, negligence, drug abuse, immorality and sensitive readers should consider that this is not your traditional Christian fiction.

At the end of A Slow Burn there is still the mystery of what happened to Daisy and who did it? I am compelled to finish this trilogy as I feel the need for closure and I want to read Ousie's story. I'm hoping that the Pepper family finds much grace and healing and that Emory finds complete and total peace.

DeMuth writes in a literary voice that sometimes crackles with intensity and sometimes oozes molasses-slow emotion into the storyline. Folks who don't care for introspective and deep fiction and the slowness that results may not find the series to their liking. I think people struggling with issues of faith and failures might find some hope and healing within the story of these very broken people and the God who loves them.