Thin Places

Memoirs tell stories from a person's life, and for whatever reason, usually leave me thinking more about the particular person featured in the memoir. Mary E. DeMuth's memoir is different. As she artfully tells stories from her life, Mary takes the focus off the personal tragedies and hardships that she faced and points instead to how God's grace carried her through those times. After finishing the book, I sat thanking God for the "thin places"--"snatches of holy ground, tucked into the corners or our world"--that He has given me throughout my life for they are treasures, just like Mary's memoir.

[Disclosure: I received this book for free as part of the blog tour.]

Sacrificial Acts of Love

Instead of the usual book review, I decided to participate in the writing assignment/challenge issued as part of the blog tour for Mary DeMuth's latest novel A Slow Burn, which is the second book of the Defiance, Texas trilogy. The book released this week and is available on amazon.com here. For a list of other participants in the blog tour, check out this link. I received my copy for free as part of the blog tour.

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In August 2003, after I had endured three months of excruciating pain, the surgeon agreed to remove my gall bladder. In his wisdom, he scheduled the surgery for August 8, exactly one week before I was slated to close on the purchase of my first house.

I wanted the surgery even more than I needed it, so postponing was not an option. Trying to reschedule a planned move and closing proved too costly. So knowing that I had to pull off all the details involved with those two big life events in the span of a week, I put out a cry for help. And my friends answered.

Tracey got up at o'dark-thirty, picked me up from my apartment that was nowhere near her house, and drove me to the hospital for my surgery.

Sallie allowed me to recuperate at her house so that I wouldn't have to climb the stairs to my third-floor apartment.

After I returned to my apartment, Melissa brought over all the cookware and ingredients to make me dinner and then engaged me in a game of Scrabble to keep my mind off the impending move.

Angela and Layne drove in from Denton and Frisco after a long day's work to pack my belongings.

And Rebecca, who had known me for only a few weeks, came and cleaned my apartment and then volunteered her son to help me move.

Together, my friends conquered my long list of needs. They gave up sleep, comfort, time, and money in order to love on me. And in my weakened state, I could not repay their acts of kindness; I could offer only a meager "thank you."

Six years have now passed since my surgery and move, but my friends' sacrificial acts of love remain fresh on my mind. They encourage me to think of ways in which I can show sacrificial love to others when they need it most.

Mary DeMuth Hits the Mark

Meeting author Mary E. DeMuth and hearing her tell her story in person at our women's retreat was one of the highlights of 2008. If you've been following my blog, you'll remember Mary from my participation in the blog tour for one of her nonfiction books, Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture, and from my review of her fiction book Watching the Tree Limbs. So it was no surprise that I jumped at the chance to participate in the blog tour for her latest fiction release, Daisy Chain.

Mary's fiction shatters any stereotypes that people might hold regarding Christian fiction. Her characters aren't always nice and sweet. Her characters don't have their lives together. And the stories she weaves won't allow you to read through only a few chapters at a time. Quite the contrary. Get ready for secrets, suspense, and the Truth when you pick up Daisy Chain.

From the start, you'll be unconscious to the rapid page-turning as you welcome Jed and Daisy into your circle of friends. You'll explore their childhood hangouts right alongside them in Defiance, Texas, and begin to work with Jed to solve the mystery of a disappearance. Or maybe several. The people that Jed knows in Defiance haven't always been the way they currently are, and that bears looking into. But just as you don't get to know a person through and through on the first meeting, don't expect to know everything about Defiance and its people right away. Daisy Chain is the first book in the Defiance, Texas trilogy.

My favorite part of Daisy Chain is the amazing prose that Mary crafts to bring her characters and stories to life. It was also fun finding bits of Mary's personal story woven into Daisy Chain. And because Mary has Jesus as part of her story, you'll find Him on the pages as well.

Click on the title to pick up your copy of Daisy Chain and get to know the good folks (and the bad) of Defiance, Texas. Also, be sure to out the book's website, which is a place for sharing secrets. And to find out what other people are saying about Daisy Chain, check out the list of participating blogs here.

[Disclosure: I received this book for free as part of the blog tour.]

The Unexpected

First, the good:

1. I received an email from a friend of mine whom I hadn't heard from in a long while. We've now reconnected through our blogs, and I'll have the pleasure of keeping up with the events in her life more often. What fun to have this new connection!

2. Wishing on Dandelions arrived in the mail today even though my mom mailed it just yesterday! Who knew that the pony express could travel so quickly in this heat?

Now, the slightly bad (or simply annoying):

One of the things that I look forward to each evening is having Annie greet me at the door. She normally dances, brings me her moose baby, and is overjoyed to see me.

Yesterday, I realized that I am now second fiddle thanks to this:

This picture was taken around Easter, and apparently the little critter above has invited its friends over to party in my yard because there were two medium-size rabbits yesterday. Today there were three. Annie stands on guard at the kitchen door, pointing at them until I come in and find her.

These rabbits have been digging holes, which they use to recline in as I caught one doing today. Needless to say, I'm not a happy camper. Especially knowing that where there are two or three rabbits, many more will soon arrive.


Does anyone have any tips for getting the rabbits to move along to another yard? They appear to be immune to the bait box shown in the picture above (which was supposed to be for field mice). I live in the city, but you'd be hard-pressed to tell by the critters in my yard.

Now, I will return to the good and begin reading my new book!

Book Review: Watching the Tree Limbs

This past week I turned silent. The cause: I was completely engaged in Mary E. DeMuth's book Watching the Tree Limbs.

Thankfully, a friend had warned me that the first couple of chapters had hard material. She had given me the same warning with Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, which turned out to be one of my favorite books. So I braced myself, made it through the tough stuff, and kept reading because I had no choice. Mary's redeptive prose painted beautiful pictures that I hope will be made into a movie some day.

Mary is also the author of the book Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture, and she spoke at my church's women's retreat in April. Having heard her speak, I knew parts of her personal story and caught glimpses of it in her main character, Maranatha. The terrible things that happen to Mara, while creating a dark backdrop, somehow allowed God's grace to light up the pages all the more.

Next in my reading queue is the sequel, Wishing on Dandelions. So if I go mute again, you'll know that my nose is buried in another book and that I don't do a very good job of balancing my reading and my writing.

Reveling

This weekend, I reveled in the God who sees. Not who "saw" (past tense) but who "sees" (present tense). That was the theme of our church's second annual women's retreat. And it couldn't have been more perfect.

When my prayers go unanswered, I often wonder if God truly sees me. Does He see my desires? Do I matter to Him? I know the Sunday-school answer to these questions, but I struggle with believing the Truth about God's character. That He is omniscient and sees the tiniest of details, like the number of hairs on my head, as well as the huge desires that scream from my heart.

With a topic like that, I'm thankful that we had author Mary DeMuth at the helm leading us through our three sessions: (1) He sees your past, (2) He sees your secret fears, and (3) He sees your hectic todays. I've been a fan of Mary's since last year when I "met" her through my friend Tina's blog. I've even read some of Mary's books. But this weekend was the first time I got to meet her in person and put a spoken voice with her written words.

As I mentioned to Tina, I knew that Mary's writings were authentic, but I thought she might withhold just a little of herself when speaking before a group of women. Thankfully, I was wrong. We got the "unplugged" version of Mary as she bravely shared her story--a story filled with numerous hurts that have been covered by God's grace. To hear Mary's story and see her today, one can't help but believe in our redemptive God and know that He sees it all and redeems it all.

Retreats often appear to be fun getaways, and this one was to an extent. But it also opened my eyes to some heartwork that needs to get done.

And yet, even with a four-day weekend, I managed only to dip my toe into the pool of what God wants to teach me and instead chose to immerse myself in housework the rest of the time. Mostly because I can see an immediate difference after I vacuum and mop the floors whereas heartwork is a process, often without instant results. So now I have shiny floors to reflect my disobedience and my urge to run from God's call to sit at His feet. And somehow their shininess isn't as attractive as I thought it would be.

Ever have the urge to run away after a retreat? I have to wonder if maybe that's why they call them retreats.

Encouragement for Writers

Last week, I emailed my friend Renae, a published Christian author and amazing encourager, whom I had met at the North Texas Christian Writers' Conference last September. I wanted to hear more about her journey to publication, and she graciously shared how God has blessed her writing careeer in numerous ways in a relatively short period of time.

Her email was such an encouragement that I suggested that she send it to author Mary E. DeMuth who has recently started a website for those who "wannabepublished." And today, Mary posted those emails on her writing website.

If you are thinking about writing, check out Mary's new site, which contains a wealth of information and interviews with numerous writers.

Pick Up Authentic Parenting

The book I discussed on Monday, Authentic Parenting in a Post-Modern Culture, by Mary E. DeMuth is available now. You can purchase your autographed copy directly from Mary by clicking on the title in the previous sentence. I encourage you to pick it up today!

And Now I Present . . .

Mary E. DeMuth was the lady in the photo that I posted yesterday. She is a follower of Jesus and is blessed with a wonderful gift for writing. Both fiction and nonfiction.

As shown above, her most recent book is entitled Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture. When Mary was asked during an interview about why she decided to write this particular book in light of the numerous parenting books that are already on the market, she said,

I always struggle when I write a parenting book because I feel so darned small and weak. I don’t parent perfectly. But, we did live through two and half years in France, the hotbed of hyper-postmodernity. We had to learn how to parent our kids in that culture. It occurred to me that the things we learned would be helpful to American parents too.

In Authentic Parenting, she explains how parents can help their children prepare for the world outside their door. Yet, she does this without falling into the trite, formulaic x-number-of-steps approach. Instead, she unpacks the stories from her family's time in France, relaying their triumphs as well as their failures. And while she is unpacking their stories, she effortlessly weaves in Scripture and its application to today's culture as she urges parents to do the following:

**Talk to your kids. Listen. Share your story.

**Dare to believe that God has much to teach you through your kids. Be humble enough to learn from them.

**Create a haven for your kids, an oasis in your home that protects, supports, and gives kids space to be themselves. Take seriously the mandate that you are responsible for the soul-nurturing of your children.

**Teach your children to joyfully engage their world, while holding tightly to Jesus’ hand. Teaching this comes primarily from modeling it in your own life. Do you engage your neighbors? Are you more interested in God’s kingdom than your own?

**Admit your failures openly with your children, showing how much you need Jesus to live your daily life.

Throughout the book, I love how Mary doesn't come across as the know-it-all who has all the answers for parenting. Her book does not aim to present the "perfect parent to-do list." Instead, as the book's title aptly states, the advice that Mary shares is that of Authentic Parenting. And yet, I was amazed at how many of the practical ways that Mary provided for parents to use with their children would benefit individuals who don't have children by allowing them to draw closer to Christ in their own spiritual walk.

At its core, Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture is timely, relevant, practical, and encouraging. And because of those qualities, the book will enlighten all who read it.

If you'd like to learn more about Mary E. DeMuth and her other works, visit her crazy blog here. And for some other views on the book, check out the other blogs participating on the Authentic Parenting Tour this week. For a complete listing of the blogs participating in the six week tour, visit here.
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