What a wonderful Christmas I had! Great times with family left me with many new memories to treasure. Good food, good fun, presents, laughter, games. It was a perfect birthday party.
And that brings me to the thought that occurred to me the other day. How many of us look beyond the Christmas tree? Beyond the decorations and lights and big dinners to the One whose birthday we celebrate.
The best gift in history was a man named Jesus. We Christians often refer to the hope He brings as the free gift of salvation.
But really, it wasn't such a free gift. It cost. More than any gift in history. And it was given so our rebellious, wounded, angry, hurt, broken and dark world could find light, healing and peace.
I received some lovely presents this year, but the only one that matters is that priceless gift of hope God gave two thousand years ago. A healed relationship with our creator, the one gift that truly does keep on giving.
This year in the U.S. we have seen a rise in homelessness, wars, disturbing political fighting and more school shootings. So much darkness.
But we can choose light. I am so thankful that God offers us that opportunity.
I pray as we go into the new year, we will take advantage of that costly gift we just celebrated, choose light and show love. If we could all do that, if we could all forgive, reach out in kindness, strive to be the wonderful beings we were originally designed to be what an amazingly happy new year we could have.

This month I had such a fun party! It was a trip down Memory Lane with my sister-in-law and some of my nieces and grandnieces. Way back I fell heir to my mother's hats. As she had hats ranging form the 1930's clear through the eighties, it was quite a collection. A collection that, with the exception of a couple, has been mostly sitting around being ignored. I decided these needed to go to good homes and get back in action, so I hosted a special tea party to play dress up and share fun family memories.
And share we did. We had a great time remembering my mother and what a wonderful woman she was, and enjoyed laughing over funny family adventures.
Maybe you have some family treasures that need to go to new homes. What cool holiday gifts they might make for some members of your family. Or maybe you'll want to have a party and play dress up. Sharing these fun goodies is a great way to make memories with those we love!

I had so much fun earlier this month, speaking to the  Women of Faith at Faith Community Church in Ocean Shores, WA! This was a lovely intimate group of about sixty, and they were very patient with me when I had an oopsie moment with my slide show. Ah, technology, always a challenge and a learning opportunity!
We talked about the significance of names: the names of God, the names we give ourselves and each other. And we talked about the importance of seeing ourselves as the beautiful women we were created to be, to not listening to those names people may have called us or we may have called ourselves that bring us down and discourage us.
It's a real privilege to be able to speak to women and share some of the lessons I've learned along the way.

      Saw the musical, have heard the famous song... never visited the state. So it was a real pleasure to go there this last weekend and attend the Oklahoma Book Festival in Oklahoma City. The weather was... not for the faint of heart. Rainy and windy in the morning and far from warm, then broiling and windy in the afternoon. But, judging from the readers I met, Oklahoma grows great people.
     And what an interesting history! Everything from a land rush and oil to gangsters. I found it all fascinating.
     I especially found it fascinating staying in the historic Skirvin Hotel. I learned that the hotel has a ghost! A maid named Effie who, according to legend, was not treated well by Mr. Skirvin and jumped from a window along with her baby. She is said to haunt the 13th floor and it is claimed that you can often hear a baby crying on that floor. It is also claimed that Effie doesn't like men (and that she took out her wrath on an unsuspecting pro basketball player from a visiting team). I'm glad I'm a woman. I'm also glad I wasn't staying on that floor!
     I'm especially glad I got to visit this state and experience a very wonderful book festival.

ACCORDING TO my friend Debbie Macomber, there's something called the Golden Circle, a window of time between retirement and wheelchairs that is ideal for traveling. Your health is still relatively good and you can carry your own suitcase. Gerhardt and I aren't retiring yet but we are traveling before those stuffed carry-on's get too heavy to put in the plane's overhead compartment.
This summer I had a writers conference in NYC and my other half learned that the Queen Mary 2 would be making an Atlantic crossing to England, leaving the same day that the conference ended. We hopped on the opportunity and I'm so glad we did. What a memorable adventure!
We were able to see our fabulous friends, Sue and Malcom while in England. They treated us like royalty, spoiling us rotten and showing us parts of England we always wanted to see: Stratford on Avon, the Cotswolds, Jane Austen's house, Oxford, Westminster. What a fabulous pair! I hope that won't be the last time we get to be with them.

WHAT TO DO when you've got new digs to furnish but you don't have a new digs budget? You go bargain hunting, of course! And for me the best bargains are found at garage and estate sales and in thrift stores. I love the thrill of the hunt and if someone needs to lighten her load and downsize or find a new home for Grandma's favorite chair, well, I'm here to help. Let me tell you, I've been helping a lot of people since we hit sunny California and started refurbishing our spring bird digs.
What have I found so far? The bedroom furnishings you see above, for one. Still on the hunt for nightstands, but meanwhile, this sweet, little oak dresser ($30 at a garage sale) will do. The bed (including mattresses) was $150 and we also sprang for the bedspread and pillow shams. We got this beauty at an estate sale. No, nobody died in it. The bed was in a guest room. I can't remember for sure, but I think we paid $7 for the lamp. The  Mikasa dishes I found in a thrift store in Ocean Shores (the inspiration for my fictional town of Moonlight Harbor) and we drove them down along with a ton of other bargain hunt treasures I'd purchased for the new place. The fun original water color came from the same estate sale where we got the bed, along with a wing back leather chair for Gerhardt. And that gorgeous writing desk? Garage sale. Are we having fun or what?
Summer is garage sale season, and if you're on a budget it's the ideal way to pick up kitchen items, play clothes for the kids, sports equipment, dishes, kitchen gadgets - everything but the kitchen sink. Oh, wait. You can probably find one of those somewhere, too. So check on line and see what's happening in your neighborhood. Right now, we're coming up on Memorial Day weekend, the traditional kick-off for the season. I'm hoping to find nightstands. How about you?

I've never broken a bone in my whole long life. Okay, that's what I used to say. Now I can't thanks to a fractured ankle. Oh, the pain, oh the misery! Oh, how unnecessary. If only I'd been watching where I was going.
We were at our ocean digs and I was just taking a little walk down the street to the beach. Got looky-looing around, walked to close to the edge of the asphalt and twisted my ankle and went down. I a second. In less time than it takes to say, "Ouch." 
Good grief, have I been paying for that. No tennis, no ping pong, no line dancing. Just sitting around turning into Jabba the Hut. (Well, okay, I've been getting a lot of writing done, so every cloud does have that silver lining. But stilll... sheesh.)
There is a moral to this story, dear friends. Pay attention. Watch where you're going, watch what you're doing. Whether on foot or behind the wheel. Accidents happen in a second.
Wrong life decisions can happen pretty quickly, too. I realized there was definitely some symbolism to be found in my little adventure. We do need to be wise as we travel life's road. It's easy to not pay attention to the important things and wind up in a ditch. And some things aren't as easily repaired as a fractured ankle.
So, am I watching where I'm going now? You betcha. On so many levels!

During my morning devotions I had a bit of an epiphany I thought I'd share for anyone interested.
I was reading my Bible, Matthew 8, and there was the story of a leper who came to Jesus and asked for healing. A very bold thing to do in Bible times as lepers didn't exactly get invited to the neighborhood barbecues. In fact, they had to warn people away from them, calling out, "Unclean."
This man had to know no one would want to see him coming, but he was desperate to be rid of his disease, so he boldly approached Jesus, and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."
Jesus replied, "I am willing," and he healed the man.
So what was there in that story for me? The reminder that I can be bold and come to God with my needs. Not demanding, like a bratty child, but humble like that leper. God is always willing to work in my life. And in anyone's if we just come to Him, shedding our pride and asking for help. Surely, He will say to us, "I am willing." And He is willing - to help us through hard times, give us wisdom when we have important decisions to make, give us rest and healing and bring us to a place of peace.
And there it is, in a nutshell. Whatever you might be going through I hope this encourages you to be humble and bold.

Another birthday is almost upon me. Time to dig out the party hats and chocolate (M & M caramel, Dove dark, Frangos - bring 'em on!) Time to celebrate with family and friends. The one thing it's not time to do is look in the mirror. What's happening here? What's with this wrinkly "wrapping" and gray hair? My, how I've changed from when I was thirty!
But only on the outside. Inside, in my fertile little mind I'm still thirty and a babe. (Yes, that picture below is little old me in my band chick years in the eighties.)

iI'm not exactly walking into rooms and turning heads these days, but I am walking into rooms and being warmly greeted. I am having fun. I am trying to make a difference in the world. I am living my life.
And I am realizing that the much loved Twinkie and I have a lot in common. We've all heard jokes about the looooong shelf life of Twinkies. Well, that's me on the inside. I may not look like I did when I was thirty, but my spirit is as young as ever.
So, this birthday I'm celebrating the fact that I'm still here, that God has watched over me, taken me through many rough waters and always gotten me to shore. The face may have some dents and cracks but the brain is still working. I'm still living my story and I'm grateful to be here... with my wrinkly wrapping.

I LOVE PURSES! AND SHOES. AND SCARVES. AND CANDLES. AND FANCY DISHES. AND TEAPOTS. AND BOOKS. BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!
But after lo, these many years, my love has gotten out of control. I have too much stuff. My poor kids. I keep telling them, "I apologize in advance for what you guys are going to have to deal with when we're gone. Honestly, how much stuff do I need?
Not nearly as much as I once thought, that's for sure. Which is why this year I'm focusing on getting rid of things we don't use any more, things that have been hanging around taking up space. A lot of those things are very nice. Someone could use them. I need to set them free to go make some other woman happy.
I actually started the process this last Christmas, giving my daughter and daughter-in-law some fun items that came attached with memories. This month I took a trunk full of stuff to Goodwill. Next month, after I've lost that last ten pounds I want to shed, it will be time to clean my closet. And yes, even a purse or two will go away. Sigh.
As for my focus on the future? What's the plan? Give more, take less. Plump up the savings for old age and only buy little things that don't take up much space - diamonds, gold. Hahahah. Seriously, I'm determined to remember that there are people in the world who would consider me very rich and then act accordingly - share those riches.
With that in mind I'm looking forward to a very prosperous year, one of soul prosperity.