THANKSGIVING

Even though I have a winter scene on my website, I don't want to overlook
Thanksgiving. The stores and world already do that too much!
Thanksgiving is a time for us to all pause and reflect over our last
year and take a few precious moments to be thankful for all the
things the Lord has done for us over the year. I'm extremely
thankful for my loved ones, especially my best friend - my husband
Tom. He was recently away from me a full week and I've come to
the conclusion that the older I get the less I like being separated from
him. I know - I know, some of you are saying right now - what a baby!
Get a life! What's a week?
It seemed like a really long time to me AND it has given me a greater
appreciate and sympathy for all those widows/widowers out there who
have lost their loved ones.
Thank you Lord Jesus for all the special, wonderful times you allow
Tom and I to have together.

FIRST DAY OF FALL

So much for keeping current with my posts! Man - I can't believe it's

already nearing the end of Sept and my last post was the 5th! The

good news is that the last couple days have been beautiful, with the

sun shining and windows open. Fall is my favorite time of the year.

I love the maple trees turning, caramel apples, and candy corn -

especially the ones with the chocolate. :) I'd like to hear what some

of you like about Fall - or maybe don't like. Let me know.

September Newsletter

Hi Everyone,
I've not been consistant about posting info on this
website, but plan to change that in the future. In this day and
age, it's too easy to lose our priorities and the unimportant
suddenly seems to be so important. Keeping contact with all
of you got lost in the shuffle and I'm sorry. Back when we
were foreign missionaries in South America, we saw the
importance of maintaining monthly contact with our family
and friends.
So, that is now one of my new priorities - to keep this website
up to date.
Hopefully with interesting and humorous parts too. :)

Are We Thankful Even When It's Difficult?

This past Saturday, Tom & I drove 3 hrs round trip to attend a
booksigning at Horizon Books in Cadillac, Michigan. My signing
ran from noon until 3 p.m. and during that time I sold three, yes,
three books. As we headed our car south toward home, we talked
about how those three sales didn't even cover our gas. Needless
to say I grew very thoughtful and a little discouraged the closer we
came to our home.
And, as you can see - it's now Monday morning and I'm still thinking
on it.
But, there's a difference now. Two things happened yesterday that
rearranged my thinking. One - I was reading one of Karen Kingsbury's
novels and it convicted me about not being thankful for EVERYTHING!
Instead of the poor me's - I should be thankful for the privilege to be
invited to bookstores for signings AND that this store was like a mini
Barnes & Nobles with the coffee shop. The mgr gave me a free caramel
machiatto latte! :)
Seriously thought, what an honor to be an author signing books! Who
would have thought that would ever happen to me.
The 2nd thing that happened was a movie we watched last night called
"Faith Like Potatoes". A lady from church brought it and said we needed
to watch it.
Now, I didn't particularly enjoy the first part of the movie, but hung in
there. Then the Lord caught my attention and even though, I'm still
wrestling with some of the movie, the Lord used it to further chastise
me about my attitude and to stop looking at the book sales numbers.
Instead, I need to focus on the people and how I can touch them for
Him.
So, the Lord willing, on July 10th, we go to Mt. Pleasant, Michigan for
another signing which is about an hours drive away. This time, I'm not
going to dwell on how many books I sell nor how much money I do or
don't make.
This time I'm going with a thankful heart to the Lord for the privilege
of being an author for Him and with excitement about who He will have
cross my path while I'm there.

What does the Toothfairy and a Mermaid have in common?

Imagination, fantasy, and fun!

Last night, Tom and I attended the Pre-school graduation of our
granddaughters, Sarah - almost 6 and Abigail - almost 5 years old.
To be honest, we'd never even heard of a Pre-school graduation let
alone attend one! The adults in charge tried to make it just like the
"Big Kid's". So as each pre-schooler came up, their name was
announced, where they would be attending school in the Fall was stated,
and what they wanted to be when they grew up was added at the end.

For the last category, we consistently heard - doctor, astronaut, nurse,
animal doctor, teacher, mom, or even a "regular" dad. As I sat listening,
I began thinking how surprised I was to not hear - spiderman, ironman,
superman, or some other super hero type.

Where were the kid thoughts? Where were the fantasies and fun ideas?
I was looking at 4 & 5 year olds and they were sounding so adult.

As the line moved on, our oldest granddaughter's turn came up and I
was curious which of these lofty job titles she'd chosen; and this is what
I heard:
"Sarah Rose Erwin will be attending Easthill Christian School and
when she grows up she wants to be the tooth fairy."

For a moment, I wasn't sure I'd heard correctly. But the roar of laughter
swelling around me confirmed her words. Then my sense of humor kicked
in and I was practically rolling in the aisle.

What a character our precious Sarah is!

The room finally settled down, the line moved on and the moment passed.
Once again, we heard: nurse, doctor, teacher, rock star, race car driver.
As the line moved toward our second granddaughter, my pride in Sarah's
imagination and creativity grew. To me, she responded the way a 4 or 5
year old should.

Soon Abigail's turn came up.

"Abigail G. Erwin will be attending Easthill Christian School and when
she grows up, she wants to be a mermaid."

The emcee then added, "And, this is the sister to the tooth fairy."

Again the room roared.

I did, too!

All in all it was a great evening and a new experience for Tom & I.

More importantly, it was an eye opener. Our world is losing it's
imagination and creativity.

But not our granddaughters!

This author and Grandma is extremely proud of Sarah and Abigail!

"Way to go girls! You did us all proud! Keep feeding your imagination,
your fantasy world, and have fun!"

Being a Writer is Fun!

Not only do I get to write and create, I get to go out in public and meet new friends! A week ago Saturday found me at Barnes & Nobles in Grand Rapids, Michigan. What was possibly lacking in sales was made up for by physical support from family and friends. I felt very loved and encouraged.
Now, I'm looking forward to two, yes TWO booksignings this week in Petoskey, Michigan - which if you've read my books - is the setting for both of my novels AND the third one I'm currently working on.
Tom and I will be heading up there Weds. around noon. It's little over a 3 hr drive and we plan to return Friday night.
My signings are: Thursday, McLean & Eakin Bookstore from 1 - 3 p.m and Friday, Horizon Books from 1 -3 p.m.
If any of you live in the area, please stop in. After all, that is a bit far for my brothers!! :)
Also, last week a very nice article came out in the Mid-Michigan Women's Lifestyle magazine. I was very pleased with what was written for it also included my hubby, Tom, and some of the things we've done for the Lord over the years.
Then to my surprise, today I found out the same article was placed in another paper THIS WEEK called "The Buzz".
I'm not sure I can handle all this "buzz", but it's important that everyone knows this writing adventure is the Lord and Me - not just me.
He's the one who gave me the gift.
I'm just excited to be able to use it.

Barnes & Nobles Book signing

I know it's been a long time since I've posted. Sorry about that! About three and one half weeks ago, I pulled a tendon in the arch of my right foot and am still nursing it along. The tightness has moved up to my knee so-o-o the club and treadmill have gone by the wayside! :(
But I do have GOOD NEWS! This Saturday, May 1st, I'm doing a book signing at the Barnes & Nobles store located in Woodland Mall on 28th St in Grand Rapids, MI. I'm very excited about this and hope some of you from the area will come and see me from 1 - 3 p.m. My special hubby asked if I'd like him to pay people to camp out front the night before in order to draw the press. Wasn't that sweet? :) I told him no, but truly appreciated his heart. I do pray that books will sell and will let all of you know. Until Saturday night, have a great rest of the week.

Poco a Poco (little by little)

Due to a busy schedule I haven't been able to do the Club until today. It having been since last Friday I was sure the setback would be great. Surprise! At least I was! :) I did 15 mins on the stationary bike, then did some of the machines before moving on to the ellyptical. Sometimes I look at it as a monster trying to defeat me! But today I fooled it - and me! I went 30 minutes!! AND within that time I sped up once for 4 mins and another time for 3 mins. That 5k is starting to look a little more possible. As a side note, my hubby pointed out the calories in a candy bar, so this time I noted the calories burned for the 30 mins. Would you believe it didn't cover the candy bar!?! That got me thinking a lot! So much for needing chocolate to keep me emotionally stable! :)

Radio Personality!

Yesterday afternoon I had my first radio interview. It was great! They did it via the phone and I was on the air for about 10 mins. That may not seem super long to most, but to me it was very special! Tom recorded it and then I listened. Boy, we sure do sound different when recorded, huh? Either way, I'm thanking the Lord that the word is getting out about my new novel - Out of the Snare.
Tomorrow I'm doing a booksigning at Robbins Booklist in Greenville, Michigan from 11 - 1 pm. The local Greenville Daily News ran an article with pic on me in the paper today. It was nice. I called to thank them and the receptionist at the paper was surprised. I don't think many people call in to thank them.
The last thing I want to mention was my work out at the Club. Things are improving and again, I'm thanking the Lord. I was able to do 16 1/2 mins on the ellyptical! I actually could have gone longer, but time was running out and I wanted to do the treadmill. Look out 5k! Here I come! :)

The News of my new novel is getting out!

I'm starting to get booksignings with my first one this Saturday at Robbins Booklist in Greenville, Michigan from 11-1 p.m. If you're in the area please stop in. My next one is set up for May 13th at McLean & Eakin Booksellers in Petoskey, Michigan from 1 - 3 p.m. So, I'd better make sure I'm physically fit, right? :) Since my last posting, I've gone to the Club two more times. On Monday, I went on the ellyptical machine and after 3 mins thought I was done. A woman got on one beside me who I'd been watching over the weeks really struggling to do the weight machines. Surprisingly, she can go 30 mins - that's right 30! She encouraged me to keep going. I ended up doing my personal best - 15 minutes!!! I was tired but pleased. Thank you Lord! Today, all of the ellyptical machines were busy and I couldn't wait, so I didn't get on one, but that's okay. I still feel like I'm making progress - poco a poco (little by little).

5K and The Club

Today, I gave up and quit early! I really did! Everything was going well. I'm going faster on the stationary bike AND I did 8 mins on the ellyptical (is that how that's spelled?) machine. Then, I went to do my 5k practice on the treadmill, but the machine kept fighting me. I had somehow gotten into someone else's program and every two mins the machine would stop, up the grade, and slow the speed. I thot I was sharp enough to solve it, so changed it back and started again. This happened six times! I finally got help which stopped me altogether for 5 mins. By then, my legs where out of sync with the speed I kept trying to do. After 31 mins of actual time logged on the machine I quit. Half of me was struggling to be depressed (it felt like a setback), the other half was upbeat. I'm happy to say - the upbeat side one. :) I know now which treadmill to avoid AND there's always another day!

LAKESIDE WRITER'S CONFERENCE

I'm so excited to report that the Lakeside Writer's Conference website is now officially open for business! This conference is being held April 15th at The Shack Bed and Breakfast in Jugville, Michigan. There are 6 published authors with Tate Publishing who will be in attendance and will be doing workshops. Please check out the linked page for itinerary and to register. I'm one of the authors involved so look forward to seeing or meeting you for the first time.

SLOW, BUT SURE!

This morn I went to the Club and asked the trainer about
measuring me. It's been a month. He was skeptical that
it was too soon for any noticable change. We were both
surprised that I have lost some inches. He was also surprised
that I'm already able to walk 3 miles in a little over an hour. I,
on the other hand was hoping I'd be jogging part of that by now.
He assured me I was doing better than most who came in out
of shape like I was/still am. "Give yourself more time. Don't
be so hard on yourself." I tried. Really I did. I only increased
the reps and upped the weights on a couple machines. :)
Actually, I am feeling healthier and there were some changes
in my previous measurements, so I'm not giving up yet!

TODAY'S THE DAY!

Out of the Snare is officially released today nationwide.
So, please tell your family, friends, neighbors, or even the mailman! :)
This novel, unlike "Whirlwind" is available for order in ANY store.
All you have to do is go in and ask! Easy! If you want signed copies
they are still available through this blog or from any of the online stores,
plus "Snare" is available through tatepublishing.com. Another thing happening
is I'm finally able to start doing booksignings and have one on my calendar!
Woohoo! I'm excited!
If you're in the area please stop in Saturday, March 13th
at Robbins Booklist, Greenville, Michigan from 11 - 1. Thanks for all the
love and encouragement I receive from all of you.

Not Ready for the 5K Just Yet!

Today, I decided to push myself a tiny bit. I'd only jogged on the
treadmill once before and that was only for a min on the level.
This morn, I decided to put the grade up 1%. I know, I know.
You're saying did I even notice? Well, my legs sure did. I went 1 min 30 sec
and my shins began to burn! I stopped jogging and went back to the walk
wondering if I would even be able to do my normal 20 mins! :(
I ended up slowing the speed every min until my shin pain eased up AND
I put the grade back to level! By the time 20 mins were finished,
I was feeling almost back to normal, so went another minute! :)
Oh, this is sure going slow, but I'm determined!

5K Here I Come!

This morning, I decided to actually do a 5k on the treadmill, but first had to figure out how far that was in miles. For you who are metrically challenged like I am, that equals 3.1 miles. Well, I did it! Yah!!!! It took me 61 min. and 48 sec. So, now I have something more to work on! My idea is to speed up my time and get stronger at the same time. I guess it would also help to lose weight! :) Isn't that supposed to be a side bonus? Anyway, I'm coming along and that's good enough for me.

It's Been Almost Three Weeks & I'm Still Here! :)

This afternoon I went to the Club and worked out almost 1 1/2 hrs! I did all the designated machines for me, 5 min on the elliptical machine, added one min on the treadmill for a total of 21 AND - blow the trumpets, it's really true! I jogged one whole min on the treadmill! I'm quite proud of myself. I do feel better physically, even mentally, yet am a long way from thinking I could possibly do a 5k. At this moment it would be mainly fast walk. But, I still have weeks to go so stay tuned! Thanks for following along on this adventure with me.

Pool Day!

Yesterday I had trouble getting online, so today I'm doing two reports. Yesterday morn, Tom and I decided to do the pool instead of the machines. That was so fun! There were only two other people in the pool and I wasn't embarrassed to practice swimming! You see I've always had a fear of deep water, but do okay in the pool with sides nearby. :) It's been years since I swam so I was a little rusty! Can you be rusty in water? Huh!! Anyway, I warmed up and was able to do a whole lap without stopping! Woohoo! Afterwards, we went into the jacuzzi. Ahhh! That felt so nice. I stayed in longer than Tom, for I can take it longer. As for today, it wasn't all the eventful. I did a ten min. warmup on the stationary bike, then all the required machines (for me), the ellyptical (which I still can only handle 5 mins of!!), then ended with 20 mins on the treadmill. I'm not seeing any visual changes as yet, but I'm feeling great! Tomorrow our church group is going to a nice restaurant for Valentine's Day, so I won't be visiting the Club until Monday, the Lord willing. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Club Update

Whew, I've now completed a whole week (that means four trips). :) I'm quite proud of myself and how it makes me feel. I got a one wk pass for my hubby, so he went with me this morn. While I did the machines, he went swimming, did the sauna, and the jacuzzi. Ah, the life! :) Actually, I'm enjoying myself and think it's time the trainer upped my weights. Unfortunately, we're due a snow storm starting tomorrow morn, so I guess we'll see if I'm able to go again this week or not. Meanwhile, I hope this encourages others to give it a go! I'm actually walking the full twenty mins on the treadmill hands free! See you can teach an "aging" dog new tricks! :)

"The Club"

Well, I went for the second time today. Wednesday morn I expected to feel stiff and generally awful, but was pleasantly surprised! My big accomplishment today was walking on the treadmill without holding on. I know, I know that sounds simple right? Well, it wasn't for me until I learned my balance which was accomplished today. Yah!!! I'd like to think after having gone twice that I could notice an obvious change in the mirror. :) Nope! I have a very long way to go, but at least I'm starting the trip! The plan is to go again Saturday and then Sunday afternoon. They even gave me a pass so Tom, my hubby, can come with me for a week. Until Saturday, take care.

55 and a 5K

This last weekend I read a wellness paper put out for people 50+. Since I'm 55 I decided to look it over. Inside was an article encouraging us "older" people to get in shape for an upcoming 5K run/walk being sponsored by one of our local high schools. Can I do this? Ran through my mind as I studied my out of shape, overweight body in the mirror. Feeling strangely motivated I decided to take the 12 week challenge and signed up! Yup I really did!!! This morning at 8 pm found me at The Club with a trainer. It was embarrassing to be weighed and measured AND have it all noted on my progress card. He then took me to the stationary bike to do a heart rate test. When I didn't pass out, he moved me on to the weight machines. :) All in all, I think we were both surprised that I did better than I looked like I could do. But, after 1 1/2 hrs and the ellypical machine! I called it quits for the day! In order to come even close to running the 5K - or even a fast walk - I need to workout at least three times a week. So, like the movie "Julie @ Julia" I've decided to post my progress and/or setbacks. I'm not kidding when I say I'm overweight and out of shape, so this is quite the endeavor for me. Hopefully, there will be people reading this who will get encouraged right along with me. So --I'll see you Thursday!

THOUGHTS FOR 2010!

Here it is Jan. 18, 2010! Already the new month of the new year is more than half over! I've had all kinds of good intentions, even made a list, that I wanted to accomplish the first week and I'm still only half done! What's up with that!?! Part of that list has to do with working on my third novel called "Out of the ____". Would you believe I don't even know the title yet and I've written five chapters! :) I'm not complaining really. I'm pleased that it's coming along, just not as fast as I expected. I know I'm rambling, but I really am coming to a point. Where does our time go? We've been doing a study at church during Sunday School about the tyranny of the urgent. How we think time gets stolen from us, when actually, we willingly give it away. Every morning I wake up prepared to have an organized, disciplined day and within a half hour it's out the window and I'm off and running. It amazes me that I actually have written and published two books! How did I do that? To be honest, it wasn't all me. The Lord Jesus Christ played a huge part! He's the one who gets me focused and prompts me what to write. I'm so very thankful that I have a personal relationship with Him and that He promises to never leave me or forsake me! So, when those times of hurry, hurry, hurry - or times of finances, finances, finances - get you down, focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. Like my new line above says, "Any time that I don't know what to do, I will cast all my cares upon You." Sometimes we just need to be still and listen!