Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Are you wearing green? Hope so — or somebody will pinch you. Is this just a custom in the U.S.? I just now thought that maybe some of you out there wonder what I’m talking about.

Well, everybody around here celebrates March 17 with the color green and shamrocks, but when I think of Ireland, I think of all these cool Celtic crosses. Here’s a picture:

I could spend all day looking at these crosses, but my kids are home from school — it’s a teacher workday. My kids think there’s no school because of St. Patty’s Day. Funny.

I reviewed a book a few weeks ago that was filled with Celtic crosses. It was gorgeous. If you’d like to read my review, it’s of the book, My Jesus Is … Everything! by Anne Graham Lotz. It’s here at Christian Book Previews. How fun — don’t you love the cover?

Have any of you ever been to Ireland before? Oh, that would be a dream to go. I’d LOVE to go visit some of those crosses … and tour an Irish castle and go eat in an Irish pub. Maybe stay at a bed & breakfast like this one.

We have some friends who have taken several mission trips to Ireland. I think of them when I think of these Celtic crosses. If you happen to live anywhere near Alabama and you have a college-aged student, you will HAVE to go visit University Christian Fellowship in Birmingham. Our friends started this ministry a few years ago with only a handful of students, and now he’s speaking to over 800 STUDENTS a week. Let me tell you, there is something on fire over there. I also discovered there is a UCF blog that records the weekly messages. Anyway, they love going to Ireland, and I’ve enjoyed seeing their pictures and hearing about how beautiful it is over there.

Here are a couple of my favorite Irish Blessings:

Irish Marriage Blessing
May God be with you and bless you.
May you see your children’s children.
May you be poor in misfortunes
and rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
from this day forward.

An Old Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

I want to say hello to my reader(s) from New Zealand! I know you’re out there. Thanks for stopping in! There’s a little dot on my map that shows me SOMEbody is coming to read my blog from New Zealand, and that’s very fun!

My husband and I went to New Zealand years ago, as chaperones with a group of high school students who were studying marine biology. I have to say New Zealand is one of the most beautiful, pastoral places I’ve ever seen in the world. There were fields dotted with sheep at nearly every turn. Is it still that way? I hope so.

Today’s Carnival of Beauty is being hosted by Sallie of Two Talent Living, so click over to her place to see what 13 lady bloggers contributed on the topic of The Beauty of My Life.

BETH MOORE! We’re going to be up and running soon — we’ll probably start Monday, March 27. If you’re at all remotely interested in joining our Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit online study or being a faithful weekly lurker observer, then leave Lauren a comment here, and she’ll add you to our list. There are 14 of us signed up right now. Isn’t that fun? Not only us ladies, we also had a visit from Paul of Hill Country Thoughts blog who said he’ll be praying for our group. (I met Paul in person last fall at a writers’ conference — recognized the white cowboy hat and said, “Hey, you’re the Hill Country Thoughts guy!” He’s very nice and a gifted spiritual writer.)

OK, now onto to some other exciting news. It looks like our post Teens in the Blogosphere has captured the interest of USA Weekend Magazine, which is a little insert that comes in your weekend newspaper. It has a modest circulation of 47.5 million readers. (I did say million, ladies!!) Their ParentSmart columnist, Pat Olsen, is doing an upcoming series called “A Parent’s Guide to Blogging.” If you’d like to have some input in this story, here’s the address to contact USA Weekend Columnists. And if you haven’t had a chance to contribute your input into our Mom 2 Mom post here, please do. (The truth is — I did send them an email, but they wrote back and said they were VERY interested in our input. You just never know … This columnist may end up expanding the topic into a book someday.)

One more interesting tidbit: I got a note from Agent Tim yesterday — he thinks his mom wouldn’t mind my asking her some questions about raising teenagers. Does anyone have any questions for her? Her son is the 16-year-old visionary behind the new organization, Regenerate Our Culture.

P.S. If you’re going to be in the Beth Moore study, I found this Lifeway site has several sizes of online banners and graphics. Just click on it, save it, and upload it to your sidebar. Then you could link it to Lauren’s Created for HIS Glory site where we’re all “gathering.”

I think you must know by now that I’m completely hooked. If I’m not blogging, chances are I’ve got about five posts running through my head, and I’m wondering when I’ll get a chance to write them down before I forget.

So, I was out grocery shopping — in the frozen food aisle picking out juice — and I thought, Today’s March 3rd! I’ve got to blog about Hina Matsuri! But then I thought, I’ve already blogged once today … people are going to KNOW I’m really obsessed if they check back and see something new.

Then I finally decided, I don’t care. I want to show everybody a picture of those dolls!

So here’s my news: today’s a really special holiday in Japan celebrating the JOY of having daughters! Now, I apologize to my Japanese readers who may have already read my blog today and think I’d forgetten. How many hours ahead are you? About 12? You must be asleep by now. (Gomen nasai — sorry!)

Anyway, when I lived in Japan, every family with a daughter had some sort of display set up for this happy celebration. People loved telling me about the dolls — each one has a very special meaning and place to be set up. Some of these elaborate displays are worth thousands of dollars and have been passed down from generation to generation.

Here’s a picture:

Here’s some information I’ve copied verbatim from this beautiful website:

“The Doll’s Festival, also known as the Peach Festival, Momo-no-Sekku, takes place on March 3. Hina matsuri (hina means dolls and matsuri means festival) is a time to pray for the well-being of young girls.

Most homes with young girls will set up a display of hina ningyo (hina dolls) like the one you see above. The dolls were originally handmade, but have since become mass produced. Around the display peach blossoms, rice cakes, special colored and diamond shaped rice cakes called hishimochi and white sake are placed as offerings. This festival has been celebrated in Japan since the Edo Period (1603-1867).

The main dolls used in the displays are Odairi-sama, a prince and Ohina-sama, a princess, who sit at the very top tier, surrounded by their courtiers.”

Please go visit here if you’re interested because she has tons of links and adorable craft ideas.

Here’s another site with gorgeous paintings of Japanese holidays from the book, Floating Lanterns and Golden Shrines. On May 5th, the boys will have their turn. This is called Kodomo no Hi, and families with sons will display samurai warriors and carp flags. I’ll have to remember to blog about that in May.

On a personal note, I recently discovered a miniature Hina matsuri orgiami craft that someone had given me years ago. It was packed away in a box with all sorts of treasures. In this display, a tiny little drawer opened, and inside was some colorful candy, which I’d never eaten. My kids found it and wanted to know if they could eat the candy!

I wonder what I can do today to celebrate having daughters. Maybe I can dig out one of my Japanese tea sets that’s been packed away, and we’ll have an apple juice tea party in honor of all the little girls in the world. (Now see, if I hadn’t blogged about it, I wouldn’t have thought of this.)

How about you? Do you have a daughter? Tell her you love her today!

I took this test entitled, “What language should you learn?” This was an interesting result. I know how to read and speak some Japanese, but not Chinese. The written languages have some similarities, so it might be something I could pick up someday. But Chinese is a tonal language — it seems really hard to me!

Yet it’s the language of about 1/5 of the world’s population, right? I’ve discovered that studying a language is truly the best way to understand the heart of a culture. I took German two years in high school, French two years in college, and have about four years of formal Japanese study. But I’ve forgotten so much — Use it or lose it, they say! It’s funny how well I can remember the songs we learned …

How about you? Do you speak or read any languages besides English? What’s your native tongue?

You Should Learn Chinese

Surprised? You shouldn’t be – Chinese is perfect for an ambitious person like you. You’re a natural entrepreneur, and a billion people are waiting to do business with you!

Well, you thought you’d just click into my blog today to see what I’m rambling about … but I’ve got a surprise for you. Slip on your seatbelt and prepare for take-off. We’re outta here.

We’re meeting author Mary DeMuth at a tiny café nestled along the French Riviera — oui, elle habite en France. She’s joining us on her blog tour, as she’s telling the world about her life as a mom, missionary, and author of several new books.

Hi, Mary.

BONJOUR mes amies!

So, what do you suggest we order from the menu?

Well, I think you’d like the chocolat chaude (hot chocolate) for starters, then let’s have salade chevre chaud — my favorite salad—it’s a tossed green salad with tomatoes, little toasts and baked goat cheese. Then I’d like veal with some sort of cream sauce and you might enjoy the steak with béarnaise sauce. And molten chocolate cake for dessert. We can people watch while we try not to let all the cigarette smoke choke us!

Mmm … OK … I’m sipping the chocolate now and waving away the smoke. I can feel the warm Riviera sun on my back — and I’m wishing I remembered more of my college French. So, tell us, Mary, how did you and your family end up moving from Texas to France?

Well, on our ten-year anniversary (five years ago), my husband surprised me with a trip to Paris. Whenever we tell this story to other married couples, I see the wives elbow their husbands!

If my husband were here, he’d get the elbow about now. Sounds romantic.

(Laughs) While we were there, we felt such a burden for Europe, something missiologists are now calling the Lost Continent. We couldn’t find a church anywhere, though we’ve now discovered a few. We could really sense the lostness.

So after you came home, did you have some idea you might go back?

We gave it some serious thought. Patrick was three years away from finishing his master’s in theology at Dallas Seminary. He wanted to graduate with a goal in mind — so Europe — France in particular, became our goal.

Sounds wonderful. But how did you figure out a way to get over there?

We eventually met up with an amazing and like-minded missions agency that specializes in planting relevant churches in postmodern Europe. Patrick graduated in May of 2004 and we were on the field that August. We’ve been here a year and a half. With a team of people, we’re planting a church.

Wow. You’re living a dream life — in France! But did you have any culture shock once you got over there?

Um. Yeah. Big time.

Can you tell us what was your biggest adjustment?

Grocery shopping. Laundering. Not understanding the language. Everything. It’s very disconcerting to move to another culture, particularly one you think is western and therefore similar to your own. But it’s not at all similar. You can read a few of my early essays about France in my blog.

I’ll have to check them out. I have trouble thinking beyond the Eiffel Tower and Madeline. So, tell us about your family. Do they go to school over there?

Our youngest two, Aidan (10) and Julia (7) attend a French public school.

Do they speak French in school?

Yes, they speak very good French now, but you can imagine how terrible it was for them when they first moved to France, not speaking a lick of French. They correct my pronunciation all the time! Our eldest, Sophie (13), goes to an International school that we THOUGHT would be in English. Turns out, that wasn’t true. Most of her classes are in French. She speaks very well too.

That’s amazing. They’re getting such a unique experience. Well, I’m sorry, but we Mom 2 Mom readers have to head back home now — I think my thoughts will be drifting to the French Riviera all day. You have a beautiful family, Mary. Au revoir!

Au revoir!

We’ll be joining Mary DeMuth again on Thursday to hear all about her new books. Not one, not two, but three! She’s been busy — writing a devotional, a parenting book, and a novel (the first in a series.) She’ll give us the scoop on how she manages her dual roles as mom and author. Meanwhile, you can hang out with her in the blogosphere at her Relevant Blog. C’est magnifique!

Last week, I went to my first Christian Bookseller Association (CBA) conference — at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. It was also my first trip to the famed “Music City,” and I half-expected to see Stetson-clad cowboys two-steppin’ in the street. Instead, I mostly saw thousands of Christian books!

I badgered a few people to see if I could get a badge to attend — it’s one of those conferences where they have security at the door. CBA Advance is held every January and offers Christian publishers and wholesalers the chance to connect with retail buyers, authors, and editors to share products and ideas. There’s an even bigger CBA gathering held in July.

Before I left, I was secretly worrying about my budget — how many books would I be able to buy? When I’ve been to homeschool conferences, my credit card has burned a hole through my purse as I purchased curriculum and must-have educational products.

But this turned out to be different. Nothing was for sale! The booths displayed only floor samples for buyers. I felt like I was going on a treasure hunt every time I walked around the HUGE room. And there were authors I recognized everywhere! I had to stand and gawk at novelist Liz Curtis Higgs, my favorite humor columnist — she was signing her newest release. Her column appears on the last page of every Today’s Christian Woman issue — and she’s so funny.

Then I walked past Mary Hunt’s publisher — and there she was signing her two new financial management books. I’ve read her Everyday Cheapskate columns for ages — and here she was in person, smiling at me and giving me her books!

So, of course I’ll be reviewing many of them here for you. I’m almost halfway through Dennis Leonard’s Happiness Matters: 21 Thoughts that Could Change Your Life, and I love it — and can’t wait to tell you about it. (It came with a CD of some mighty fine preaching.) Michelle Medlock Adams and Gena Maselli signed their adorable book for women, Divine Secrets of the Yahweh Sisterhood, which looks like a fun read. I also picked up a copy of Story by Steven James, which is a passionate retelling of the real Easter story and will be sold in stores everywhere this spring.

One highlight was taking a swampboat tour with the author of The Wilderking Trilogy — which I’ll tell you more about tomorrow.

If you’ve never been to Opryland, here’s my sales pitch: it’s ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. I felt like I was in Hawaii — or on some remote South Pacific island. You’re inside this huge, 4.5-acre glass atrium, surrounded by real living plants — and you hear the swish and roar of waterfalls everywhere. The picture above is where my husband and I enjoyed our breakfast croissants and coffee in the morning. He could hardly get a bite to eat because I kept asking him to take more pictures — I love palm trees!

The best part of the conference for me was meeting the real people behind email names. A dozen of us from my online writers’ group met for a chat — and it encouraged me so much. Most of the writing work I do is very far from glamorous — I’m either up writing alone before dawn — or I’m composing while surrounded by kids, crayons, pets, sandwiches, laundry, the phone ringing, grocery lists, missing shoes, and stacks of magazines and books (which give me plenty to write about — but there’s not a pinch of glamour involved.)

So this was beyond refreshing for me — and hopefully, I’ll have plenty of new books and ideas to encourage and inspire you as well.

Living faith — that’s what I saw — the love of Christ demonstrated in thousands of ways.