Congratulations to Iris of Sting My Heart blog. Today is her official day to launch her new devotional site, Laced With Grace.

Iris and a team of six other lady bloggers will be sharing daily devotional thoughts to lift the hearts of readers. I’ve been reading Iris’s beautiful essays in the Blogs of Beauty carnivals since last winter — God has whispered to me between the lines of her posts many times.

We’re praying for you, Iris! May God be glorified through your words! 🙂

Just in case you thought that press release earlier today was kinda dry, I have to tell you some big news. Kristin Billerbeck, the QUEEN of Christian chick-lit, is coming to visit tomorrow. Here!

Don’t miss it …

I’m busy collecting my all-time favorite laugh-out-loud quotes from some of her books off my bookshelf. I don’t know where she thinks of this stuff, but you can’t read a Billerbeck novel and stay in a bad mood. I mean, just in case you ever get in a bad mood. Not that I’m speaking from experience. heh. heh.

If you’ve never read any Billerbeck chick-lit, you can visit her in the Silicon Valley here.

One of you wrote to me recently to tell me you saw my mother/daughter book for sale at your local Christian bookstore in Niverville, Manitoba! So, hello to everyone up there!

I read here that you’re located 55 kilometers south of Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba. OK, my knowledge of Canadian geography is not all that impressive, but since I know several of you now from Manitoba, I’m so intrigued. This site says your population is 1600 people.

My kids rarely get to see snow down here in Georgia. I’m sure you have beautiful winters up there. We were watching Anne of Green Gables the other day, and my oldest daughter asked me several times why we can’t live somewhere where we can ride in a horse and buggy through the snow, like Anne and Diana did, on their way to the Christmas dance.

Maybe we’ll be able to hop on a plane or train someday and come for a visit. I still dream of one day renting or buying a used RV and traveling around the country — and it would of course be thrilling to venture into Canada.

I hope we can stay connected until then!

I learned something new today — there is a Green Tea flavor of Pocky!

You Are Green Tea Pocky

Your attitude: natural and zen Peaceful yet full of life. Deep and thoughtful. You’re halfway to tantric bliss!

I read about this on Iris’ Sting My Heart blog — her son is preparing to go live in Japan, so she’s interested in Japanese culture. She is Strawberry Pocky. What flavor are you?

I’m surprised I wasn’t chocolate — because actually that’s my favorite flavor of Pocky. My mom sometimes goes to a Japanese store in Atlanta and buys some of my favorite Japanese snacks — like those adorable Koala Bear cookies that are delicious!

When I taught English in Japan, my little elementary-aged students knew that I loved Pocky, and they’d buy some for me. The strawberry kind is good too. I miss Japanese snacks — especially the “fast food” I’d eat before I taught a lesson. I’d jump off my bike, dash into a little shop, and buy some nori (seaweed) wrapped around rice and tuna. I’d eat that along with an iced green tea or a “Georgia Coffee” and be good to go for a few more hours.

Thanks, Iris, for bringing back those fun memories.

Tomorrow is the 5-year-anniversary of 9-11. There are several blogger projects going on to help us remember, such as Project 2,996.

If you’ve been blessed by a blogger lately, here’s your chance to tell everybody. Just write something on your own blog, and send the link to Christian Women Online. Or if you don’t blog, then you can comment here.

I’ve been blessed by so many people, but I have to highlight two bloggers who really made me go, “Wow!” this week.

Carol of She Lives
This week, my local Jr. Woman’s Club sent out our monthly newsletter, and as I looked over the list of upcoming fall projects, I saw the Memory Walk coming up in October. This event raises money for the Alzheimer’s Association, and last year, our city raised $15,000. Our club has been asked to help staff registration and set-up.

It will take up several hours of my Saturday, but as I gave it some thought, I remember a post Carol wrote back in June about her father, She Takes a Walk. Carol wrote about how her father passed away from Alzheimer’s Disease when he was 65 years old, and that it’s hereditary in her family. Every time I read her post, I get tears in my eyes.

Before her father died, Carol worked very hard to make her dad a scrapbook to help him remember the special people in his life. But she went beyond this — she signed up to be a Creative Memories Consultant and taught workshops to help other people create their own memory albums. She was asked to keynote the Memory Walk kick-off luncheon in her hometown, and her team won an award for raising the highest amount of funds. You can see a picture in her post.

So, thanks to Carol’s passion for Alzheimer’s patients, I feel that I have a personal connection to this association, and now I’m getting involved locally. And of course I have a story to tell people. I hope you can read She Takes a Walk, if you haven’t already.

Jenn of Secular Transcendence: The Random Adventures of a Recently Born Again Messianic Jew
I didn’t realize Jenn had a new blog until this week. Our “paths” crossed during the Beth Moore Living Beyond Yourself online study — Jenn and I were both members of this group. I have to say “Wow!” a million times when I’ve read about her transformation — what joy to have a new sister in Christ as a result of this study!

I read Jenn’s post of August Book Reviews, and I had to jump over to her old blog to read her review of Watching the Tree Limbs, by Mary DeMuth. I read that book too and reviewed it for CWO last month.

Here are the sentences in Jenn’s review that took my breath away (if she doesn’t mind me quoting):

Stopping at various passages to meditate on an idea or little snippet of dialogue that touched me I felt the hand of God reach down and cup my face up to tell me, “Now, do you remember child? You are Mine. You need not worry about anything because I’ve got it all under control.”

See, I had forgotten. I had shut my eyes to Him everywhere, to His whispers in everything. I got wrapped up in this Earthly mess we call life and just plain forgot to stop thinking for myself. I forgot what it felt to be free. I forgot to let the Spirit take over. It happens to me. I don’t know why, but it does. How quickly everything just falls to pieces when that happens. But how quickly it all comes together when I remember.

I thank you God for leading me to this book. I thank you Ms. Demuth for not being afraid to share your story, for reminding me that I have a purpose in life, probably not unlike your own but more importantly for reminding me that I’m His and He loves me and will never, ever forget me.

After I read that, I emailed Jenn and asked if she’d ever visited Mary DeMuth’s blog — and she wrote back that she didn’t even know Mary had one! So I sent this review link to Mary, and they’ve connected. Mary wrote about it here.

There are more bloggers who’ve blessed me, but I guess this is long enough for one post. I’ve never met any of these ladies personally, yet we’re connected through our faith and our words.

The new September issue of Christian Women Online is out. Once again, it’s full of inspiring ideas to help us gear up for fall. This issue also contains a visit from a celebrity — you’ll be surprised hearing how this beautiful woman lives out her faith, along with her famous (and I must add, adorable) celebrity brother. Click here to see who.

My Book Buzz column this month lists my favorite books for getting toned up this fall — in your home, your marriage, your finances, your spiritual walk, and your friendships.

There’s always something new going on at CWO. Editor Darlene Schacht sent out a note to the Blogring members that there are over 500 bloggers now who have joined up. It’s a great way to “meet” other like-minded believers — so, have you signed up yet?

Starting tomorrow, we’ll have the chance to post how we’ve been Blessed by a Blogger. If you’ve read something amazing lately, or you’ve been encouraged by a blogger, here’s your chance to let the world know. Then send your link here, and join the crowd. I’ve been saving up all week for this.

Today represents a huge change in my life — it’s the first day of preschool. My 3-year-old has felt left behind since school started a month ago for his older siblings. He’s been carrying his little backback around the house and asking me, “Can you give me some homework?” He is SO ready for school.

He’ll be going three mornings a week to our church preschool. This is the seventh year in a row we’ve had a child enrolled. Hard to believe! I don’t think he has the jitters at all because he’s so familiar with everything. He has a new teacher and new classmates, but the playground is familiar territory.

To be honest, it’s me who has the butterflies. Why in the world can’t I outgrow being nervous around people I don’t know all that well? Every year, I have to get to know a new group of moms. And I can’t help it — I wonder where I fit in.

There are some moms who are easy to categorize — there are the tennis moms, who drop off their kids in their perky tennis outfits, barely covering their tan, muscular legs. I don’t like them very much (just kidding.)

Then there are the entrepreneurial moms, who greet you with a new catalog of whatever they’re selling, and you wonder if they’re being nice to you because they like you or because they want you to buy something or host a party. Those shopping parties stress me out, so I don’t do them very often.

Then there are the work-outside-the-home moms, who dash indoors wearing suits and pumps, their ear cocked into a cell phone. They make me feel underdressed and wonder if I’ll ever be able to have enough time and money to get a decent hairstyle that’s NOT a ponytail.

There are also the PERFECT SAHMs, who look beautiful and put together at 8 am, always on time, their kids the same. They’re the ones who volunteer for everything and make all the cute crafts for holiday gifts. (Unlike me — I show up with juice boxes … late.)

And there are a few dads, who sometimes look haggard as they rush to get to work on time.

New backpacks, ribbons in curly pigtails, smocked jumpers and overalls, hugs and tears, everybody snapping pictures — this is what the first day of preschool has been like for me seven years in a row.

So where do I fit in? I’m not one of the easy-to-categorize moms. I work at home, though few people ask what I do. I’ve been around long enough so that I know a few familiar faces, but most of my friends are either busy homeschooling or have gone back to work outside of the home.

This week, I’ll start my new Bible study, which will meet upstairs from the preschool. I’m very excited about that — we’re doing Beth Moore’s Living Beyond Yourself — YEA! I talked it up since I loved our online group — but I’m starting over again. This time, using a workbook like everyone else.

I’ve got a few butterflies about our Bible Study too. And I’m also the new girl in my exercise class. I still can barely keep up. There are no classes for “Tired Moms Who Just Want a Break.” No, I’m sweating to rock/rap music in the “Body Combat” class, learning how to “punch, kick, jab, and hook” because — hey, you can’t be too picky when there’s good childcare provided.

I did run into an old friend yesterday at the gym — and it seems too good to be true. We’ve been “birthday party” friends for years, but haven’t really seen each other without kids around. It turns out our daughters are in class together at the same school, and we’ve got kids in the same preschool as well. “This is the first time in TEN YEARS that I’ve been able to get out of the house without having to find a babysitter, ” she told me, after dropping off her youngest at preschool.

She invited me to start working out with her. So, I’ve got butterflies. A new friend! Please, Lord, please help me be a good friend to Mary. Help me to be encouraging and go beyond the surface. I really need a friend this year!

If any of you feel this way — you get nervous at stepping out of your comfort zone — maybe you can read this post and know you’re not alone. We’re all misfits this side of heaven!

I’ve been getting a notice from my hosting service that my blog domain name is up for renewal. That means I’ve been blogging for almost a year. Thank goodness it renews automatically, or it might be one of those things I put on my to-do list — and forget to do.

One of the first topics I wrote about last fall was starting a women’s book study. In our hectic, fast-paced society, it’s hard to find time to develop close friendships with other women. But we need to.

If we spend all our time teaching our kids, hauling them around to lessons, shopping for family meals, working around the house, and volunteer/ career activities, we’ll eventually burn out. We need to spend time with other women who are going through the same things we’re going through — and who can laugh and cry with us.

Online friendships are great — and I’m so thankful for the few I’ve been able to develop — but nothing beats hanging out with local friends. For one thing, my kids are still young enough that most of their close friends are the children of MY friends. I’m picky, and I won’t let them go home with a family I don’t know very well. There ‘s too much to risk. My children’s innocence means more to me than popularity.

Lisa Ann Cockrel wrote a great article called The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Real in this month’s TCW magazine. I haven’t read any of the Yada Yada books yet, but Lisa explains:

The chick-lit series authored by Neta Jackson focuses on 12 women from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds who are thrown together at a citywide women’s conference in Chicago. Against all odds, this motley crew forms a bond that lasts beyond the weekend as its members continue to “know and be known to each other and to God”—the Hebrew meaning of the word yada.

Do you have any type of Yada group where you can get real with people? I know, personally, I’m very different online than I am in person. I’m not willing to say anything online that I wouldn’t mind being read by hundreds of people — and there are some things we share in our small group that only stay within the walls of the room.

In two weeks, our preschool moms’ group starts up again. I can’t wait! We meet once a week in a church, which provides FREE childcare. For most of us, that’s the main reason we can go. I used to be in a church that had a large number of homeschooling families. Our weekday morning women’s ministry provided a special room for homeschooling kids to meet and do their schoolwork, overseen by a paid college student.

Oh … what a refreshing relief it was for us moms to get together. Plus, it was fun for the kids. After a couple hours of schoolwork, they got to go outside and run around on the playground together. My son always accomplished so much more on those days — because kids who didn’t finish their assigned work (assigned by their moms) didn’t get to play!! It worked!

If you’re not already part of a book club, fellowship group, or looseknit group of friends who get together and hang out, this article includes eight tips from author Neta Jackson on how to start your own Yada Yada group. If you’ve recently moved, it might be up to you to reach out and start your own.

Isaiah 43:19 says, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” It’s almost fall, the perfect season to start!

I know this title is kind of dorky — and it’s late, but I’ve just got to link to Terry Whalin’s post today. If you’re a writer, which you probably are if you’re reading my blog (because most people don’t even know what a blog is, so you’re way ahead), then you’ll love this post!

Terry Whalin is the fiction acquisitions editor for Howard Publishing, a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster, and he blogs at The Writing Life. I love, love, love this blog, and in fact, I’ve “met” some of the coolest people in the comments section of The Writing Life, such as Gina Holmes, Trish Berg, Cyndy Salzmann, and CJ Darlington.

One thing I enjoy about Terry’s blog is that he travels all over the country and is always thoughtful to take his readers with him. He just returned from the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers’ Conference, where he taught classes and met one-on-one with aspiring writers.

Here’s what he said:

I love this process of interacting with writers and talking through their concepts and dreams. One of the most valuable times from my perspective is this face to face help for writers. It’s a chance to listen and then give them my personal perspective on their idea and how it can be improved.

I’m not speaking as the absolute authority—I’ve learned the hard way in this business that none of us have that absolute insight. Each of us only have our own perspective and each book has it’s own challenges as to how it enters the market. Or each magazine article idea or each book proposal is filled with it’s own difficulties and joys.

This quote is all the inspiration I need to be excited about my upcoming talk at the Smyrna Public Library. I’ve been so nervous thinking about standing up in front of people; but now I think maybe the people who will come are also book lovers and writers! So we can have fun encouraging each other. Maybe someone will hear something I say, and God will mysteriously transform my words into an idea that encourages them to write.

Enough of my babbling; if you haven’t clicked over to The Writing Life, I hope you can go now.

The new July issue of Christian Women Online magazine is out. Click here to read it.

You can enter to win a free copy of Allison Bottke’s A Stitch in Time, which I’m in the middle of reading now — it’s absolutely adorable. And there are regular columns by Darlene Schacht, Shannon Woodward, Bonnie Hooley, Valerie Wolff, Victoria Gaines, Bonnie Bruno, Kim Brenneman, Ann Voskamp, and moi. You can also read a new chapter from Catherine West’s novel, Just a Little Walk, and be further inspired by guest columnist, Polly Boyette, author of Life is a Buffet, So Save Room for Dessert .

If you haven’t joined the CWO blogring yet, what are you waiting for? There’s also a new CWO Blog, which includes daily posts from six of our favorite bloggers: Darlene, Iris, Paula, Joy, Antique Mommy, and Tracey.

Here’s how editor Darlene Schacht introduced my new Book Buzz column:

Heather Ivester has picked some of the best books this month we’re sure you’ll want to get your hands on for summer.

Whether you want to get whisked away to the Isle of Arran, enter the hilarious and hectic world of Beckie Miller, or brush up on your home-keeping skills, there’s a wonderful book waiting for you.

So sit back in your favorite chair, put up your feet and get lost in a book.

Read more…