A treat for the Holiday's

My good blogger friend Angela V. Cook is doing a little blog hop today that doubles as a holiday treat recipe exchange. A while back I told you all what the BEST cake in the world is, but I didn't give you a recipe. Well, no time like the present!

This is my favorite cake because it is so moist and chocolaty with the perfect blend of spices. It is seriously heaven on a plate, and I don't even like Zucchini!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 Cups grated Zucchini

1/2 Cup soft butter

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs 1 tsp. salt

1/2 Cup Sour Cream

1tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

4 Tbs. Cocoa

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1/4 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. Cloves

6 oz Chocolate Chips

Cream together the sugar, butter, eggs, oil and vanilla. Stir in the remaining ingredients excluding the the zucchini and chocolate chips. Fold in zucchini and pour into a ungreased 9 X 13 pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and bake for 40-45 minutes.

There you have it, eat and enjoy my friends, eat and enjoy.

What's your favorite Holiday Treat?

Book Review - Come Back to Me

Some of you may remember the guest post from Melissa Foster last week; well today I'm reviewing her book, Come Back to Me.

The Blurb on Goodreads:

Tess Johnson has it all: her handsome photographer husband Beau, a thriving business, and a newly discovered pregnancy. When Beau accepts an overseas photography assignment, Tess decides to wait to reveal her secret—only she’s never given the chance. Beau’s helicopter crashes in the desert.

Tess struggles with the news of Beau’s death and tries to put her life back together. Alone and dealing with a pregnancy that only reminds her of what she has lost, Tess is adrift in a world of failed plans and fallen expectations. When a new client appears offering more than just a new project, Tess must confront the circumstances of her life head on.

Meanwhile, two Iraqi women who are fleeing honor killings find Beau barely alive in the middle of the desert, his body ravaged by the crash. Suha, a doctor, and Samira, a widow and mother of three young children, nurse him back to health in a makeshift tent. Beau bonds with the women and children, and together, with the help of an underground organization, they continue their dangerous escape.

What happens next is a test of loyalties, strength, and love


What I Liked: The writing was Excellent. I never once got distracted with typos or repetition or even adverbs. The story was strong and the characters knew who they where and they weren't backing down from being themselves.

What I Didn't Like:  My only complaint was that I wanted more resolution in the ending. I just wanted to know that the characters could pick up the pieces of their lives and survive and I didn't get that. I guess I can hope that Melissa is writing a squeal, but I didn't get that vibe either. In reality, that's such a small thing when you have a great story.

Overview: Come Back To Me is a heart-wrenching tale of love and loss. If you're looking for a book that is real and doesn't paint a rose colored view of the world, then you'll want to pick this one up. Melissa is wonderful story teller that makes you feel for her characters and at the same time feel gratitude for loved ones in your life. 4 out 5 stars!

Since Melissa is such a generous and kind person she has agreed to give out THREE PDF copies of Come Back to Me. All you have to do is leave a comment with your e-mail address below! I'll be picking the winners on Friday :)

Crunch Time!

Only three days left in the month of November and that means it's almost the end of NaNoWriMo. I'm currently at 42,000 words. Eight thousand more and I'll be a winner (plus I will have finished EXISTENCE *fingers crossed*) so please excuse me while I dive into my hovel and write, write, write.

Are you doing NaNo? What are you looking forward to in December?

See-ya on the Flip Side

Today I'm headed off with the fam to my in-laws house to my private cabin in the foothills of Colorado's Pikes Peak. I plan on eating lots of Turkey and maybe watching a football game, maybe. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

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And yes, my mother-in-laws turkeys really do look this good :)

In a Man’s World, by Melissa Foster

 Today I have a super special surprise, Melissa Foster is going to be posting here today for her third book launch - Come Back to Me. I'll be reviewing her book next week so I don't want to give too much away, but I will say this, the outlook is positive ;)

Click on the picture to go to the Amazon Page

Take it away Melissa -

Who doesn’t love a macho, handsomecharacter? Add a little emotion and you’ve got a winner—you hope.

Creating believable men issomething that I truly enjoy. Having grown up with six brothers in atestosterone-driven world, all I had to do was pull from memories. Wrap thosememories into my daily life with five sons, and the macho, emotional characteris born.

Here’s a gross generality for you,and feel free to slam me, as I’m a blatantly honest person and I write what Ifeel. Males are visceral and females are emotionally driven (author dodgestomatoes as their thrown in her direction). I’ve learned from growing up (andold) with males, that when they’re upset, they let you know why, in veryclear—and not always tactful—ways.  

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I’mhungry. I’m bored. You pissed me off. I’ve overwhelmed. I hate that blue dress,it makes your butt look huge. Women, on the other hand, tend to be covetousof the driving force behind their discord—this lessens, I think, with age, butit’s still there. [Dialogue taking placein the woman’s head] I hope he notices that I’m ignoring him. Doesn’t he seeanger written all over my face? I’m mad, but you should know why I’m mad—Ishouldn’t have to tell you.

Growing up in a male-drivenhousehold helped me to understand the differences between male and females. Ialso think that perhaps I am wired more like a male—as I’m very straightforwardand don’t enjoy drama—cutting to the chase will always get you further in mylittle world then hoping I notice something is awry.

There seems to be a downside todeveloping strong male characters—one that I didn’t see coming. I have noissues with bad language when used at appropriate times. Bad words happen—in myhouse, they’re even commonplace among the males (like how I talk about maleslike they’re a different species?). For some unknown reason, curse words have alife of their own. They convey wrath and despair, hatred and can even be usedas qualifiers for happy events. 

I’ve discovered recently, though, that not allreaders have the same take as I do on bad language. Some expect bad language tobe left out of emotional scenes all together, while others see the visceralside of those scenes and feel they’re completely appropriate. This is thedownside for me—I have to write what my characters feel, and oftentimes, theyfeel something that only a curse word will convey.  I apologize to my readers, because I do carewhat you think and what you enjoy reading, but ultimately I have to be true tomy characters, and saying, “That darn guy,” simply doesn’t cut it when a guy isangry.

Tell me readers, what’s your takeon curse words in books? 

***

Melissa Foster is a Bestselling Kindle Author and mother to 6. You can find her  Website, Facebook, Twitter, and FB Fanpage by clicking the links. Come Chat at The Women's Nest parat of the  WoMen's Literary Cafe, Where readers and authors unite! (for men & women) 

Visit Melissa's Events Page for details on the next stop on her blog tour.

How Can Life Get Any Better?

Sometimes you find a song that just makes you smile. Other people might not get it. The lyrics are weird or they don't like the beat, but for some reason you just can't help but like it.

That's my experience with Nik Day's How Can Life Get Any Better? He's a local artist who I happened to stumble across when a friend mentioned him on Facebook. I don't think the song is the best there ever was (although he has other songs that I really enjoy), but it still makes me smile.



What are you smiling about today?

Replenishing Your Creative Juice

Let's welcome Jenny Hansen from More Cowbell for another Life List Friday! I'll be over at David Walkers blog talking about gratitude, and believe me, it is not a post to be missed! Take it away Jenny!

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 As most of you know, November is National NovelWriting Month – NaNoWriMo to all of us frenzied writers. I prepped for it mostof October, anticipated it all year…and have been unable to participate in itfor most of November due to illness.

November has been a hiney-dragging month for me. I’vehad TEN days of work/family/writing time wiped out. Gone. POOF! Since theprognosis is pleurisy, I'm likely to have several more days go “poof.”

This is why so many of us have multiple layers toour goals. NaNoWriMo is my writinglover for November, but I do ROW80 and Life List Clubyear round. ROW80 is “the writing challenge that understands you have a life.”Life List Club is an effort to make sure that ALL the areas of your life aregetting attention. (If you click on the Life List Club tab under the title ofthis blog, Jennie has given a great description of it.)

Whatdo you do when you get behind on a project (like NaNoWriMo)?

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Do you ever have those weeks where it feels likeyou're dragging your tired little backside from here to there, and nevergetting anywhere? Do you: Drink, cry, read, clean, sleep work, write, watch TV,or just “do the next thing?”

My solution, almost always, is to work. For somereason, having to deliver a product,class or document smooths my mind. It makes me feel productive and, somehow, incharge of my fate.

Life, death, kids, pets, illness all knock us offour rails sometimes and it's good to have an escape plan for the milddepression that usually lurks on the other side of these events. At the veryleast, an understanding of how you personally cope with stress will make a hugedifference in whether it's a setback or a show-stopper.

What do you do when your creative juice is running low?

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Many of my NaNoWriMo brethren are feeling a littlelow on the juice right about now. Whether it's an autumn illness or a knottyplot problem, here are some writing exercises and techniques I use for jump-startingmy creativity when it misbehaves or gets lazy.

1. Blogging

Yes, believe it or not,blogging gets me all fired up and actually helpsmy WIP, rather than taking away from it. Plus this year for NaNo, I bloggedahead THANK GOD. Being so ill used every one of my surplus posts so now I’mback to writing on demand. Try free writing some blogs – you’ll be amazed atwhat you can do.

2. Participate in goal-basedchallenges

Like I said above,participating in several has actually been a help to me because they all havedifferent goals. If I fall down in one, I can usually still achieve somethingsomewhere else. It’s been much better for my self-esteem to do it this way,rather than the old way where I wanted to drown my sorrows or stop writing “fora while” when I missed my goal milestones.

3. Interview the characters in yourmanuscript

I learned this trick from the incredible Leanne Banks –Interviewyour characters and ask them provocative questions like:

§ What are you most proud of?

§ What was your most embarrassing moment?

§ What is your biggest fear?

§ What did your parents teach you about sex?

§ What did they teach you about love?

§ What is your biggest shame?

§ What is your secret wish?

4. Take a break

Julia Cameron swears by taking a walk to clear her mind for writing.Several writers knit. I have a friend who sets a timer and cleans for 20minutes. Whatever it is that you do to clear your mind, try that instead ofjust giving up for the day when your writing laughs at you and calls you nastynames.

Bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips admits to being a slowwriter. After a lot of angst and experimentation, what worked for her infinishing her manuscripts was a state-of-the-art digital timer. She sets it fortwo hours each day that she writes. If she answers the phone or checks email,she stops the timer. She said some days it takes the entire day to do two hoursbut she keeps at it.

What works to amp you up when your creative juice is running low? Are youparticipating in any goal-based programs right now? How are they going for you?

I wish you happy writing this week! Don’t forget to click on over to David's place to see Jennie!

About Jenny Hansen

Jenny fills her nights with humor: writing memoir, women’sfiction, chick lit, short stories (and chasing after the newly walking BabyGirl). By day, she provides training and social media marketing for anaccounting firm. After 15 years as a corporate software trainer, she’s diggingthis sit down and write thing.

When she’s not at her blog, More Cowbell,Jenny can be found on Twitter at jhansenwrites and at her group blog, Writers In TheStorm. Every Saturday, she writes the RiskyBaby Business posts at More Cowbell, a series that focuses on babies, newparents and high-risk pregnancy.

It's Here!!!

Today is the day my short story is going to be published, squee!! You can find the link to buy it here. It's only $.99 and you can read it on your computer (find the software here).

Here's the synopsis one more time if you didn't see -

The Promise of War

Beth isn't your average Princess -- she's never been dressed up or fed with a silver spoon, but that's what happens when your country is ravaged by war. In an attempt to save her father and her kingdom she is marrying Prince Clayton, the only man with an army big enough to stop their enemies. The only thing that holds her back is a dream of true love.

Thank you all for your support, it means so much to me to have made such awesome friendships like yours!

Gratitude Blog Hop - Free books!

I bet you didn't know that today is a super special day. A few amazing authors are getting together with bloggers and talking about what they are grateful for. The best part? Free books on most of the links. I don't mean you can win free books (although there is that as well) but I mean a bunch of amazing books for free.

I get the honor of hosting Staci Stallings, a Christan mother and author who has written 30 full length novels (I know, that number blew me away too.) Anyway she is giving away a copy of her book Cowboy to one lucky commenter! Here are the details:

The WoMen's Literary Cafe is very thankful for all of the support from bloggers, reviewers, and readers during the Come Back To Me book launch and 99 cent event. As a thank you, we are giving away COWBOY either as an ebook or in print for free today only. Enter to win your copy by leaving a comment on this post on this blog. Please include your email in the post so we can get in touch with you.

Now we get the chance to learn from Staci about being yourself. The post is super touching and I encourage everyone to read it and take a good look at themselves. Take it away Staci!

Finally able to be me

For many, many, many years I tried to be someone else. It wasn't a specific someone else. I simply had the impression that something was wrong with me, so being someone else made more sense. The weird thing was, I was desperately trying to be successful and get the approval of others while simultaneously hiding the parts of me I thought they wouldn't approve of.

It was as if I was saying, "I want you to love me, but I'm not going to let you know who the real me is."

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So I lived my life in fear that someone who loved me would figure out that wasn't really who I was and they would decide not to love me anymore. Which of course is ridiculous because they weren't loving
the real me in the first place, they were loving the made-up me, which wasn't me at all. What a mess,
right?

Well, this year as we go into the Thanksgiving season, the thing I am most grateful for is that God finally broke me out of that miserable, rotten prison I was holding myself captive in. Little-by-little through life and writing, I have learned that being me is really okay, that using my gifts and letting others see them is all right as well.

In fact, it's better than all right... it's amazing!

You see, when I was trying to hide, I spent all my time radaring everyone else to see who they wanted me to be. I scanned my family and my friends. I scanned others in writing groups and you, my readers. I scanned everybody. And I spent so much time scanning trying to figure out who everyone else wanted me to be, I forgot to live!

When God finally convinced me (and it really did take some convincing) that He loved me just as I am and that He knew all about my weaknesses and all about those things I didn't want to admit to anyone, and that He loved me anyway... It blew me away! I realized that all that hiding wasn't doing anyone any good. God wanted me to come out of my little cave, bravely if possible or using His bravery if mine was shaky, and live.

Amazingly, upon finally accepting that, life has opened up to possibilities and opportunities I never

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would have even tried when I was wallowing in my self-cave of doubt and fear. This year I stepped out on God's bravery when He asked me to put my books on Kindle and then on Nook. It took more of His bravery to get on Facebook and Twitter. And it took everything He could give me to start a new author connection group.

Best of all, I didn't panic and run when things got tough. Instead, I stood on God's promise that HE could do it even if I couldn't. And miracles started happening.

So this Thanksgiving when I look back on this year, I will be very thankful that finally, finally I listened to what God's been trying to tell me all these years in a thousand ways: "I love you. It's about Me being faithful to show you how awesome I am not about anything you can do. I want to help you all the time, in every situation, especially when you don't think you can do it. I want to be Your partner and Your best friend in everything. All you have to do is accept what I'm holding out to you."

Understanding, believing, and accepting that has literally changed my life. So this year, I am thankful that God didn't give up on this headstrong, confused, but good-intentioned girl. He is my Hero!

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A stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids and a writing addiction on the side, Staci Stallings has numerous titles for readers to choose from. Not content to stay in one genre and write it to death, Staci’s stories run the gamut from young adult to adult, from motivational and inspirational to full-out Christian and back again. Every title is a new adventure! That’s what keeps Staci writing and you reading. Staci touches the lives of people across the globe every week with her various Internet endeavors including:

Spirit Light Books--The Blog
http://spiritlightbooks.wordpress.com/

Facebook Author Page at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spirit-Light-Author-Staci-Stallings/266593276699576

Staci's Bookshelf:
http://stacistallings.wordpress.com/
Or...

Follow Staci on Twitter @StaciStallings

Come on over for a visit…

You’ll feel better for the experience!

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Just one last reminder about my short story being released on e-book tomorrow! I found out that it will only be $.99 so you'll want to jump on it while you can :)

Holiday Blog Hop

Today at Jenny's Imaginary World there is blog hop going on and a chance to win some amazing books. All you have to do is write a something short and sweet about the holidays. Simple enough? Good.

Here's my entry, which is just a conversation I had in my head (Hey, I'm a writer okay? I'm allowed to be crazy.)

"Christmas is your favorite Holiday?" Someone sayswith a sneer, "don't you hate all the commercialism?"

"Of course I do." I respond

"Then why is it your favorite? Shouldn't you likeThanksgiving or something?"

I give them a gentle smile, "there are so many things tolike about Christmas that have nothingto do with commercialism."

"Like what?" They ask.

"Like the way everyone's hearts seem to open up and weforget about how much we hate eachother for one moment and start to think about those people who have nothing,when we have been given so much."

"Oh." They say. 

There is no response to that becausethey feel it too, but only on Christmas.

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Just a little reminder if you haven't heard - my short story is going to be published in an anthology and will be available on Kindle Monday. For more details click here.

Nisa Swineford!

Today I have the lovely Nisa from Wordplay/Swordplay joining us for another crazy interview! She is super fun and cute so go check out her blog when you have a chance :)

Give us the You Tube video you like to stalk the most.

Youtube? What's that? Seriously, Youtube isn't one of my regular haunts, but I do think this one is a classic. 14G anyone?

I've never seen this before, LOVE Kristen Chenoweth!

Using only 1st letter of your name give us three words that describe you.


Do you know how hard it is to come up with "J" adjectives? Joyous, Jovial, uh, Juvenile may or may not apply... Juicy? Jolly? I'm stuck! Let's go with "just" for #3 just because.

  Um... That was really good :) 

Handwriting or typing?

Typing. I can't read my own handwriting. Sadly, that is a true statement. It makes me feel better to know that I can't read anyone else's handwriting either.

Me too! I am not alone!

Thanksgiving or Valentines?

Thanksgiving. Food never lets you down. It never lets the scale let you down either.

 

Amen!

We want to know the real you - give us funny picture that shows your personality. 

LOL! Perfect :)

Thanks so much for joining us Nisa! That was a blast :D

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If you didn't hear last Friday, my short story is going to be published in an anthology available on Kindle, Thursday. For more details click here.

NaNo Update and some Big News!!

My fingers are shaking as I write this because I'm so excited to tell you about my big news! But first I just wanted to give a short update on NaNoWriMo.

Things are going well, I'm on track (for now) even though I had to delete 2,000 words becasue I was getting to the end of the story too quickly.

The more I write the more I see the book ending up at about 70,000 words instead of 80,000. This is just fine, but that means I will probably finish the book before the end of the month and I won't have written 50,000 words. But that's still a win in my opinion.

Now for the big news --

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I'm going to be published!!!

Now, it's not a novel -- I wish. It's a short story I entered into a contest back in May. The e-book is being released NEXT THURSDAY on kindle. I'm pretty sure it's not going to cost more then $2.99. I have no control over the price (and I don't get any of the proceeds) so I can't give away free copies, but if I could I would give it away to anyone who wanted it, I'm don't write anything to make money (I would be in a bind if that was the case) I just want to be read. There are going to be a few other short stories from other people who entered the contest, but since I was 4th  place you won't see my name on the cover.

The story is written in the same style as Earth Song since that's where my head was at the time. The theme of the contest was "Totally Cliche" and here is the synopsis of it -

The Promise of War

Beth isn't your average Princess -- she's never been dressed up or fed with a silver spoon, but that's what happens when your country is ravaged by war. In an attempt to save her father and her kingdom she is marrying Prince Clayton, the only man with an army big enough to stop their enemies. The only thing that holds her back is a dream of true love.

Wow, that sounds cheesy when I write it like that. Then again, the story was meant to be a twist on the cliche ;)

Anyway, I hope you will consider downloading it next Thursday (I'll make sure and post a link, and you can download kindle software for your PC if you don't have an e-reader), but I understand if you can't. Love you guys!

Oh yeah, and here's a little peek at the cover -

 I can't wait!!

You love me, you really love me!

I know, cheesy title, right? But I've gotten a slew of awards lately and it's time I let you all know and thank those lovely bloggers who gave them to me. Instead of passing them on (especially since I've gotten one of the awards seven or eight times) I'm just going to say a little tidbit about why I love the blogs that gave me these awards.

First up we have M.E. from Breaking Fantasy. Every time I visit this blog I feel like I'm in Edgar Allen Poe poem. Every post is thoughtfully done and gets me thinking. Truly a versatile blog.

Next we have the fabulous Donna K. Weaver from Weaving a Tale or Two. Her blog is upbeat and positive and she shares the best information in her blog post. So friendly and fun, you'll want to check her out. Her blog is lovely indeed!

Now for my talented and beautiful friend Angela V. Cook at The Starving Novelist. This girl has a knack for voice and characterization that I love. She's the prefect combination of sweet and spicy. I get all excited and nervous when she has a new blog post up. Fabulous doesn't even begin to cover it.

Last, but sooooo not least is Miss Tara Tyler from Tara Tyler Talks. This girl can WRITE. I'm certain she will be published someday and I'll be groveling at her feet for an autograph when that happens. Stylish? You betcha!

That's all I've got. Hope you all have a fabulous day, keep on writing!!

Closet NaNoWriMo

I've been telling everyone I'm not really participating in NaNoWriMo. I've had a few commitment issues reasons for this, but now I'm staring them in the face and coming out with it. Yup, I'm official staking my claim in the NaNo soil, and I need your support. My handle is J. A. Bennett if you want to buddy up and I will be on twitter quite a bit #wordmongering* to boost my count.

I was planning on keeping this under wraps then coming out and saying "ta da! I did it!", but I wasn't exactly keeping my excessive writing a secret. (Example A) I've written 13,052 words so far. That puts me on track, for now. Hope I can keep it up!


Have you ever committed to something that scared you? How did it turn out?

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*#wordmongering starts every hour at the top of the hour. You write like mad for 30 minutes then tell everyone your word count, we all cheer each other on and work ever harder afterwards. Come join us, it's fun :)

On Being a Christian

Today I have the honor of hosting David Walker for another Life List Club guest post! I'll be over at Jenny Hanson's blog so be sure to stop by there when you're done here. Take it away David!

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Some Christians seem to think that being a Christian demands that you orally witness to or evangelize everyone you come in contact with. I don’t mean to denigrate the Billy Grahams or James Robisons that God has called to major public ministries or the myriad street preachers He has called to preach to the homeless or just to people they happen to come across on busy sidewalks.

These people need to respond to the call God has placed on their lives. If that’s it, then they need to go for it. But that doesn’t mean we should make pests of ourselves grabbing and twisting the arms of all we come in contact with.

Our lives speak much louder than our words. A wise man once told me that no one cares what you know until he knows that you care.

If I comport myself in such a way that Jesus shows through in my behavior and my conversation, that speaks far louder to most people I come in contact with than any argument I could put forth as to why they need Jesus. If I hug a waitress I frequently patronize (and tip generously) or have a kind word of encouragement for a Wal-Mart employee, the recipient of that kindness can see Jesus much more clearly than through any words I could say.

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My 95 year-old mother lives in an assisted living home. One of the other ladies who is much younger and more able than Mother approached me the other day and told me she was flying to Austin to visit relatives and asked me to pray for her safety. We’d never spoken about God, but apparently she sensed something about me that led her to make the request. If you’ve never had someone like that—or a waitress or store clerk or other such person—come to you with an unsolicited prayer request, you can’t imagine how it makes you feel.



Have I ever witnessed openly to another person? Have I ever led anyone in a prayer of salvation? Yes, when God specifically put it on my heart to do so, and both are very meaningful and memorable experiences. But unless God tugs at my heart to let me know this person is ready, I refrain. I don’t know anyone who appreciates being preached to unless it’s at a service where it’s expected.

I don’t have to wait for Him to tell me that this is the time to be nice to someone—that this is the time to hug someone or pat someone on the back or say a kind word. I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t appreciate proper positive attention, and it’s the desire of my heart to give it.

None of this is to say that I’m some big holy person. I’m not. I’m a sinner saved by grace, but God is at work in me making me a little bit more like His Son. That’s His purpose in the life of any Christian. The more I stay out of His way and let Him do His work in me, the more His Son shows through me and touches the lives of others.

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A graduate of Duke University, David spent 42 years as a health insurance agent. Most of his career was spent in Texas, but for a few years he traveled to many other states. He started writing about 20 years ago, and has six unpublished novels to use as primers on how NOT to write fiction. Since his retirement from insurance a few years ago, he has devoted his time to helping Kristen Lamb start Warrior Writers’ Boot Camp and trying to learn to write a successful novel himself.

David N. Walker is a Christian father
and grandfather and a grounded pilot. He co-founded Warrior Writers Boot Camp with Kristen Lamb. You can read more of his posts at http://davwalk.wordpress.com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.