Audra Jennings

Part 2 of an interview with Katie Bennett, Author of Heavenly Minded Mom In  Heavenly Minded Mom A 90 Day Journey to Embrace What Matters Most (Abingdon Press) , author and blogger Katie Bennett beckons moms into a new way of viewing their present reality by rising above the ordinary and routine to see a bigger plan and purpose for motherhood. This uplifting book offers moms the wisdom of Ecclesiastes, wrapped in the hope of the Gospel, and presented in bite-sized portions.  The 90 compelling meditations, scripture readings, and invitations to journal and reflect, will encourage us to reevaluate how we envision our lives and to claim a heavenly mindset towards our mothering tasks.  These inspirational readings will help us discover a new way of looking at our responsibilities as a mom through God’s eyes. Bennett encourages readers to embrace a simpler life filled with God’s promises and love as you reflect on God’s powerful work as it has woven through their past and

After church on Sunday night, Rachel came over after we went to dinner. She brought her cross stitch to work on while I got out a canvas to work on. You ought to see some of the ambitious projects she takes on. They are awesome, but extremely tedious and time-consuming. I wouldn't have the patience, at all. I got most of my project done before she left, and finished it up shortly after. On Monday, she worked most of the day on stitching. She sent me a picture of the start of the day verses where she quit for the day and asked me how many signs I got made on my day off. When I told her I had lettered 10, her response was she needed a faster hobby. Even though I lettered those 10 signs, I didn't make much of a dent in my piles. I need to get those piles done so I can make more piles. The goal is to stockpile the summer in order to be ready for the fall and not have to make as much on the weeks in between events. I'm usually not great with goals, so we'll see how

  Part 2 of an interview with Marlo Schalesky, author of Reaching for Wonder In  Reaching for Wonder (Abingdon Press) , Marlo Schalesky explores fourteen of the New Testament’s one-time encounters with Christ to illuminate the surprising character of a God who transforms our pain into wonder. Perhaps you’ve faced a spiritual crisis of disappointment, doubt, or a feeling of distance from God due to unanswered prayers and painful circumstances. But what does it mean to encounter Christ in those times? What does he say to us when we have nothing left to say? How do we see him when pain has silenced our prayers and blinded our souls? Because sometimes life isn’t at all as we want it to be... Because we lose the wonder in the hardships of life ... Because encountering Christ changes everything... Like those who have gone before, following God’s call isn’t about easy faith, a life of effortlessness, or every prayer answered when and how we want. Instead, it’s about

I am actually a night behind in posting this because while this week's episode was on, I was at Peyton's softball game. By the time I got home, I had no desire whatsoever to start blogging about The Bachelorette . The fact that it is now 9 PM, and I've found numerous excuses such as working late, going to get something to eat, browsing Wikipedia regarding an old TV show and playing games on my phone, I obviously am not that excited tonight. That actually applies to blogging in general lately. The reason I actually need to back post five days on the blog. I may or may not get some of that done later, depending on how long it takes (hoping FWD through commercials helps, but I now I will be pausing a lot while describing the arrival of the men) and if my battery holds out on the laptop since I didn't bring down the power cord. So Becca... is she over Ari? It was pretty traumatic how he broke up with her, but in how he went about it, I would say, "Good riddance

I have been teaching a lot lately, but I haven't gotten a bunch of videos. So, here's a repeat video from a year and a half ago. I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy By George W. Cooke I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy Down in my heart, Down in my heart,  Down in my heart, I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy Down in my heart,  Down in my heart to stay. Chorus And I’m so happy, so very happy I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart,  Down in my heart, And I’m so happy, so very happy, I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart. I’ve got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus  Down in my heart, Down in my heart,  down in my heart, I’ve got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus  Down in my heart,  Down in my heart to stay. Chorus   I’ve got the peace that passes understanding  Down in my heart, Down in my heart,  Down in my heart, I’ve got the peace that passes understanding  Down in my heart,  Down in my heart to stay. Chorus  

What happened to spring? It stayed relatively cool for a while, then it got really hot really quick. Two or three weeks ago, there were parts of the country still getting snow. Now everyone is hitting high temperatures. I went out to Home Depot, then did some replanting in the backyard and almost melted. I hate being hot and sticky, so I'm already over the heat and it's May. When I came in, I had to cool down the craft studio so I can start making a dent in the piles. Piles and piles of stuff Dad has painted for me, but I haven't finished. I've been coming down from the office too late recently to get anything done at night, so it's mostly just weekend crafting these days. Here's something I just finished off. I really wish I had not started the writing at an angle like I did. It drives me nuts.

It has been that time of year when many a mom (some dads and grandparents too) on Facebook has posted pictures talking about how swiftly time passes. Have you noticed all the last day of school pictures compared to the first day of school pictures?  There have been last kid graduating kindergarten photos. Last day of elementary photos. "She's a freshman now" photos. "I can't believe I have a senior now" photos, and of course, graduation photos a many.  So many milestones. So many celebrations. So many bittersweet moments.  There are times where I don't feel like an especially touchy-feely person. I wouldn't necessarily consider myself to be someone that's uber sympathetic. That's not something I am proud to admit. Oh, but in the midst of all these photos and posts, I'm experiencing "all the feels" in a major way. No, I don't have kids of my own. I do have nieces though. When school starts back in a few months,

Sometimes I get wound up about things. Ok, a lot of times I get wound up about a lot of things. Instead of getting out my stress relief coloring book, I got out my markers and a canvas. I'd like to think this was a little more productive. I finished this off while sitting in my chair in the living room watching TV. This summer, I am determined to make up the canvases that have been sitting in my studio since last January. My craft room is a mess with projects to finish.

On Wednesdays in May I am going to highlight this month's releases from Love Inspired and Love Inspired Suspense. (There is a blog tour going on right now with the publisher. This is the last tour that was on the Litfuse calendar, so I wanted to share.) Are you familiar with the Love Inspired line? You believe hearts can heal. Love Inspired stories show that faith, forgiveness and hope have the power to lift spirits and change lives—always. Love Inspired Books celebrate wholesome, inspirational romances that enrich the lives of each reader. Whether you love heart-pounding suspense, historically rich stories or contemporary heartfelt romances, Love Inspired books have it all!  Six new Love Inspired titles are available each month! Learn more and shop the line at  https://www.harlequin.com/shop/brand/love-inspired.html .  About the book: Wrongfully Accused A Callahan Confidential story When fire investigator Mitch Callahan is attacked at a crime scene, h

I've gotten so many books recently via e-book or other electronic files, I've missed getting boxes and packages of books, other than big boxes of Readers Digest books from eBay. These are some of the Abingdon Press titles I'm working on right now. I'm doing publicity for a couple of them and helping with marketing on all of them. I'm able to branch out into some other things which is kind of exciting on one hand and has me a little nervous on another. Speaking of those aforementioned boxes of books from eBay, someone needs to keep me off of eBay. A week or so ago, I was talking about eBay lots with Dad and popped off thinking I was low-balling someone on an "Or Best Offer" on a big bunch of books only to have my offer accepted about 30 seconds later (or less). It was super quick. For days, Dad joked about my 78 books coming that I didn't necessarily need, at least not right away. Well, when they arrived in three big boxes, it ended up only b

This week has started out a bit more productive for me. I've actually come down from the office earlier though I have ended up on the laptop with various things after a couple of hour break at night.  It's been nice to step out back and check my plants. I just now realized how bad the pictures are though. Scroll down to check out my lemons. 

Wonderful, Wonderful,  Jesus is to Me Wonderful, wonderful, Jesus is to me. Counselor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God is He. Saving me, keeping me, From my sin and shame Wonderful is my Redeemer, Praise His name.

This weekend, we had our last event until fall starts. We've come to decision that with the exception Derrick Days in April in Corsicana, we will no longer do any spring events or outside events. I don't know how I gave into doing the one we did this weekend. Dad says he doesn't think it was him, but I said he kept asking about it, and I probably signed up so that he would not ask about it again. I'll tell you how bad it got. I left Mom and Dad to tend shop and drove up the road from Mansfield to Arlington with the trailer attached to go shopping for some things I needed for VBS at Mardel's and to Hobby Lobby for ribbon. I didn't find the backdrop I needed for VBS, but loaded up on ribbon since it I finally hit a half off week for ribbon when I needed it. I even stopped at Lane Bryant to look for some clothes before heading back. This is some advice I have though: If you need to venture into Arlington around 157 and I-20 to shop, with traffic what it is

One thing leads to another, you know. After I posted all those pictures from yesterday's post on Facebook, someone asked for an anchor. I really did almost do an anchor when I pulled out those other shapes.  The morning after the request for an anchor, someone else messaged me about something related to either a college or the Navy. Well, I had this anchor which could be Navy, so I went digging in my boxes of shapes. It's easy to pull of Army. A couple of weeks ago when we went to Canton, I picked up airplanes for when someone asks for something Air Force, so... The problem with the Marines is their logo is rather complicated. We're still thinking on that one. In other news, we got the order for the state of Indiana done. If you want to order your state, let me know!

After cutting a number of paws and musical notes last week, we decided to try a few more things this week. Actually, "a few" isn't an accurate descriptor. I had someone ask about a Longhorn after doing a state of Texas on the closest thing to a Texas orange book I had. I'm hoping to get a few more of these books at some point so I can make more. I said I wasn't going to post it on Facebook because I couldn't replicate it right now. My hoard of books is well documented on this blog. I also have a hoard of small MDF shapes organized in boxes by theme (animals, crosses, hearts, fall, western, even fruit). So, I started pulling out random shapes as patterns to cut. Pineapple Horseshoe I have a bunch of brown books I need to use, so I hope people decorate for fall. Dad was determined to do a goat because he liked the pattern. We do a lot of baseball items, so this seemed obvious. We aren't a fan of the golf ball on a tee