Win a free copy of The Red Siren and/or The Blue Enchantress

On Margaret Chind's blog at this link for the Red Siren: CherryBlossommj-Red Siren
Or
for The Blue Enchantress: CherryBlossommj-The Blue Enchantress


And remember to check back this Friday for the first giveaway for The Raven Saint!

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everylasting Father, Prince of Peace

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined......For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end,

I came across these verses in Isaiah 9 during my daily reading this past week. A clear prophesy of Jesus long before He as born. Yet, how many times do we just read over verses like this and not take the time to meditate on them and what they mean. So I decided to look up each word describing Jesus and then put the phrases back together to see if we can get a clearer picture of our awesome God. Then, I chose the terms that meant the most to me, but you may choose different terms to define each descriptor. They are all correct, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves of certain attributes of God, attributes that we really need to lean on in our present circumstances. Which terms would you use to describe each attribute of God? And what do they mean to you?

Mighty: Strong, all-powerful, tremendous, exceptional, enormous, tremendous, superior

God: Supreme being, Creator of all things, Eternal Spritual Diety

Mighty God: All-powerful, eternal Diety (Nothing He can't do!)

Wonderful: awesome, wondrous, miraculous, prodigious, astonishing, amazing, astounding, phenomenal, unique, causing wonder, marvelous, lovely, admirable, magnificent, enjoyable.

Counselor: Advisor, Mentor, Advocate, instructor, teacher, guide

Wonderful Counselor = Astonishing guide (He leads me on an astonishing journey!)

Prince: a soverign, a ruler, royalty

Peace: Harmony, freedom from strife or dissention, serenity, tranquility, untroubled, quietness, wellness, calm, ease, order, contentment

Prince of Peace = Soverign of contentment (He is the author of contentment. Without Him, we will never be content!)

And my personal favorite!

Everlasting: Eternal, forever, no end, ageless, constant, enduring, unceasing, imperishable, immortal, continual, durable

Father: Protector, provider, person who cares for someone else, Daddy

Everlasting Father: Eternal protector (He never leaves me. He's always watching out for me!)

I hope you take some moments to ponder these attributes of God and apply them to your own heart, and your own life.

Answers to Thanksgiving Quiz

Thanksgiving is held on the final Thursday of November each year.

False. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln designated the last Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving. However, in 1939, after a request from the National Retail Dry Goods Association, President Franklin Roosevelt decreed that the holiday should always be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month (and never the occasional fifth, as occurred in 1939) in order to extend the holiday shopping season by a week. The decision sparked great controversy, and was still unresolved two years later, when the House of Representatives passed a resolution making the last Thursday in November a legal national holiday. The Senate amended the resolution, setting the date as the fourth Thursday, and the House eventually agreed.

One of America's Founding Fathers thought the turkey should be the national bird of the United States.
True. In a letter to his daughter sent in 1784, Benjamin Franklin suggested that the wild turkey would be a more appropriate national symbol for the newly independent United States than the bald eagle (which had earlier been chosen by the Continental Congress). He argued that the turkey was "a much more respectable Bird," "a true original Native of America," and "though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage."

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln became the first American president to proclaim a national day of thanksgiving
False. George Washington, John Adams and James Madison all issued proclamations urging Americans to observe days of thanksgiving, both for general good fortune and for particularly momentous events (the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, in Washington's case; the end of the War of 1812, in Madison's).

Macy's was the first American department store to sponsor a parade in celebration of Thanksgiving
False The Philadelphia department store Gimbel's had sponsored a parade in 1920, but the Macy's parade, launched four years later, soon became a Thanksgiving tradition and the standard kickoff to the holiday shopping season. The parade became ever more well-known after it featured prominently in the hit film Miracle on 34th Street (1947), which shows actual footage of the 1946 parade. In addition to its famous giant balloons and floats, the Macy's parade features live music and other performances, including by the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes and cast members of well-known Broadway shows.

Turkeys are slow-moving birds that lack the ability to fly.
False (kind of). Domesticated turkeys (the type eaten on Thanksgiving) cannot fly, and their pace is limited to a slow walk. Female domestic turkeys, which are typically smaller and lighter than males, can move somewhat faster. Wild turkeys, on the other hand, are much smaller and more agile. They can reach speeds of up to 20-25 miles per hour on the ground and fly for short distances at speeds approaching 55 miles per hour. They also have better eyesight and hearing than their domestic counterparts.

Native Americans used cranberries, now a staple of many Thanksgiving dinners, for cooking as well as medicinal purposes
True. According to the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association, one of the country's oldest farmers' organizations, Native Americans used cranberries in a variety of foods, including "pemmican" (a nourishing, high-protein combination of crushed berries, dried deer meat and melted fat). They also used it as a medicine to treat arrow punctures and other wounds and as a dye for fabric. The Pilgrims adopted these uses for the fruit and gave it a name—"craneberry"—because its drooping pink blossoms in the spring reminded them of a crane.

The movement of the turkey inspired a ballroom dance.
True. The turkey trot, modeled on that bird's characteristic short, jerky steps, was one of a number of popular dance styles that emerged during the late 19th and early 20th century in the United States. The two-step, a simple dance that required little to no instruction, was quickly followed by such dances as the one-step, the turkey trot, the fox trot and the bunny hug, which could all be performed to the ragtime and jazz music popular at the time. The popularity of such dances spread like wildfire, helped along by the teachings and performances of exhibition dancers like the famous husband-and-wife team Vernon and Irene Castle.

On Thanksgiving Day in 2007, two turkeys earned a trip to Disney World.
True. On November 20, 2007, President George W. Bush granted a "pardon" to two turkeys, named May and Flower, at the 60th annual National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation, held in the Rose Garden at the White House. The two turkeys were flown to Orlando, Florida, where they served as honorary grand marshals for the Disney World Thanksgiving Parade. The current tradition of presidential turkey pardons began in 1947, under Harry Truman, but the practice is said to have informally begun with Abraham Lincoln, who granted a pardon to his son Tad's pet turkey.

Turkey contains an amino acid that makes you sleepy.
True. Turkey does contain the essential amino acid tryptophan, which is a natural sedative, but so do a lot of other foods, including chicken, beef, pork, beans and cheese. Though many people believe turkey's tryptophan content is what makes many people feel sleepy after a big Thanksgiving meal, it is more likely the combination of fats and carbohydrates most people eat with the turkey, as well as the large amount of food (not to mention alcohol, in some cases) consumed, that makes most people feel like following their meal up with a nap.

How many did you get right????

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

Take the Thanksgiving day Quiz!

Happy day before Thanksgiving! Test your knowledge of the holiday.

Answer True or False to the following 9 questions. I'll post the answers tomorrow so you can see how well you did!

True or False

1. Thanksgiving is held on the final Thursday of November each year.


2. One of America's Founding Fathers thought the turkey should be the national bird of the United States.


3. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln became the first American president to proclaim a national day of thanksgiving


4. Macy's was the first American department store to sponsor a parade in celebration of Thanksgiving.


5. Turkeys are slow-moving birds that lack the ability to fly.


6. Native Americans used cranberries, now a staple of many Thanksgiving dinners, for cooking as well as medicinal purposes


7. The movement of the turkey inspired a ballroom dance.


8. On Thanksgiving Day in 2007, two turkeys earned a trip to Disney World.


9. Turkey contains an amino acid that makes you sleepy

Trust Him in the details.

Lately, God has been dealing with me on the issue of trust. How about you? Does trust come easy for you? Not for me. I grew up in an environment that didn't foster much trust. I never knew my father and none of my step-fathers stuck around long enough for me to develop any trust in them. Which was a good thing, since they always left. I basically learned that people leave and can't be counted on. When I gave my life over to God, I really struggled with trusting Him. For goodness sakes, I can't even see Him. How can I trust Him? How do I know He's there? How do I know He's got my back?

For years, I struggled to believe Him, to believe His word. And finally, I've started to really trust Him for the bigger issues in my life, like making it to heaven and my kids' salvation and having enough money to live on.. those sorts of things.

But what about the little things? I'm talking about things that hit your life everyday. Responsibilities, pressures, pains, failures, hurts, people who drive us nuts! Does God care about these things? Surely He's too busy with bigger world issues and saving the lost. So, I never really bothered God about the little things, and because I never bothered Him with them, I never learned to trust Him in the details.

I think part of my problem is that I all too often picture God as wise old man sitting on a throne in heaven surrounded by light. He's somewhere else where I can't go. He's busy. He doesn't see that I'm stressed or busy or frustrated. But the Bible says something very different.

But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Phill 4:5

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Hebrews 4:8

My husband is a scientist, and I don't understand much of what he says, but he got me interested in the topic of demensions. There are 4 demensions as we know it. Length, Width, Height and Time. But there are therories (string theory among them) that say several more dementions exist beyond our four. As my husband explained it to me, there could be creatures or beings or things in demension 5, 6, or 7 that are as solid and tangible as we are, but we cannot see them. What this means is that our Lord can be standing right beside us. He could be touching us, but we would not be able to see Him or feel Him. This really changed my perspective on things.

The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephania 3:17

Do you know God rejoices over you with singing?? God is with us. He is right beside us. And He cares whether you're stressed or frightened or you have a headache, or your feelings just got hurt. I'm not at all advocating that we walk around absorbed with our own petty problems. But I think it's so important for us to know that God cares about every detail of our lives. There's a scripture that says "He delights in the details of our lives" I couldn't find the reference but I know I've read it multiple times. He wants to be involved in every detail of your life! He wants to help you.

So, when I get stressed about my next deadline or hurt by a bad review! Ugg.. Or a friend ignores me or I burn dinner, I plan on just turning to God (cause He's standing right there) ask for His help and receive from Him a big heavenly hug!

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. Psalm 18:19

Winner of Havah by Tosca Lee is....

Annabell!! Thank you all for entering!

I want to remind everyone that next month is The Raven Saint month. In honor of the book's release in January, I'll be giving away a free copy of The Raven Saint each week, starting Dec 4th. Plus I'll be posting different things about the story and the characters. I hope you can drop by and enter to win one of the books!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Pictures from Fort McHenry, Baltimore. A view back in History! Enjoy

For such a time as this

"Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:13-14

If you don't know the story of Esther, I encourage you to read the book in the Bible. It's one of my favorite stories. It has everything: Romance, Adventure, Intrigue, Deception.... you name it!

One of my favorite parts of the story is found in the scripture above. Esther, a lowly Jewish girl, by the divine providence of God has been made Queen of Persia. Due to a single man in power who hates the Jews, a decree has gone out by the King that all Jews in his kingdom are to be slaughtered. Of course, the King doesn't know his queen is a Jew! Esther's uncle begs her to go to the King to plead their cause, but Esther knows that if she approaches the King unannounced, she could be put to death.

There is so much about destiny in the book of Esther. If you have ever thought that your life is meaningless and you have no purpose or that God could never use you for anything important, you need to read about Esther! She was nothing but a lowly Jewish girl living in the middle of a very wicked kingdom.

Esther's uncle gives her a choice. She can either try and save her people or she can do nothing. Either way, God's will will be done. But the truth of the matter is, if she chooses to do nothing, she will have missed her destiny.

We can refuse to walk in obedience to God or cower in fear from our calling and God will undoubtedly still accomplish His agenda without us. But we would have passed up the fulfillment of our own entire life-purpose and we will miss out on being a part of something mighty, eternal and extraordinary.

Don't wait until it's too late to follow God with all your heart. How tragic it will be for those who choose to serve themselves in this life all the way into a meaningless existence. As they stand before God on judgement day, they will no doubt wail in agony for all they missed in this life.

If you are here today, then God has something for you to do.

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. Acts 17:26

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, Ephesians 1:11

Esther made the right choice. She risked her own life to obey God and in the process she saved an entire nation of people from annihilation.

What are you going to do? Only God knows the plans He has for you. All you need to do is listen and obey! And fulfill your destiny!

Back from West Virginia

Hi everyone! A still very jet-lagged MaryLu checking in with a few pictures from West Virginia. My family and I met in my brother's newly built cabin (designed from scratch) up in the hills of West Virginia near the city of Elkins if you know the area. There is a great ski resort called Snowshoe at the top of the mountain where the cabin was located. My brother bought six acres of pristine, raw forest on the side of a mountain. All I can say is it's gorgeous! And a vastly different lifestyle and pace of life from what I'm used to here in the big city! (People actually go hunting there for their food! And they have greased pig contests at the county fair. ) LOL

Anyway, my entire family got together and ate a huge thanksgiving feast and just had a great time enjoying each other's company. Since they are all from Florida, I don't get to see them but once a year, so it's always so much fun when we get together.

Here's a few pictures:

This was taken from the top of a knoll where General Lee was said to have camped during the Civil War. Cool, huh?

Here's my brother's cabin seen through the trees

.

My nephew standing in the snow at the top of Snowshoe Mountain Ski lodge

The view from the top of the mountain

Sunset from the porch of the cabin

Now, if I can just catch up on my sleep, I might be able to get writing again on my next book!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

When God calls, I suggest you answer the phone!

Last week, we talked about how God can use our pasts (tragedies, struggles, heartaches, and even sins) to create a wonderful future for us--a future where He can use us in some great capacity for His glory and our good. (And it will be fulfilling, too!)

But we have to answer His call when He calls. So many people ask me how to discover God's will for your life. It's easy. God wants you to know what He wants you to do. He's not trying to hide it. May I suggest that the problem is on our end? Here's some reasons why we may not know God's will for our lives.

• It's not time yet for you to know. You're not ready to do the task He has for you. (You need more time in God's boot camp!)
• Disobedience - willful sin in your life
• Rebellion - not fully surrendered to God
• Not walking closely with the Lord - You can't hear Him if you don't know Him. You can't hear Him if you don't spend time with Him.
• Faith - You have to believe God will show you when the time comes
• Complaining too much. What was the one thing besides sin that kept the children of Israel out of the promised land?
• You aren't answering the phone! Maybe God has already told you but you don't like what He said. Like Jonah, you're running away.

Remember Paul? He was killing Christians and liking it when God called him. How did God call him? With a blinding light and a strong voice. Paul fell on his face and became completely blind. But he had a choice at that moment. He could have complained and cursed God for making him blind. He didn't know if he'd ever receive his sight again, did he? He could have been angry and become bitter and never answered the call. And look at all he would have missed out on!! He was responsible for spreading the good news to the gentiles! What an important task. I thank God that Paul answered the call, aren't you?

Six years ago, I felt very strongly that God wanted me to write a story about a Christian Pirate. Lots of people around me thought I was nuts. I had never written a book before. I had no training, no skills, and I didn't know anyone in the publishing industry. But I did it. I answered the call. If I hadn't, I don't know what I'd be doing today.

So, do yourself a favor. Check your heart. Trust God, and answer Him when He calls you!

Book giveaway - Havah - The story of Eve by Tosca Lee

Happy Friday, everyone! I'm heading to West Virginia today with my husband for a family reunion at my brother's brand new cabin in the mountains! Yea!! We are very excited. I'm not bringing my laptop and plan on taking a break from business. We will return on Tuesday.

In the meantime, I want to offer you another free book. Havah The story of Eve by Tosca Lee.

Here's what the backcover says:

A single decision has the power to unravel mankind.

Created, not born. The world's first woman, without flaw until one fateful choice. Now all humanity must pay for the mistake. From paradise to exile, from immortality to the death of Adam, experience the dawn of mankind through the eyes of Eve--the woman first known as Havah.

I've read this book and it's very good. It really makes you think about what it must have been like to be Eve.

So, leave a comment and I'll draw a winner in 2 weeks!

Have a great weekend!

Off to West Virginia!

My husband and I leave the grand state of California early tomorrow (6:30 AM. Uggg!) and travel to West Virginia. My brother built a cabin in the woods on top of a mountain there and my family is getting together for a sort of pre-Thanksgiving family celebration. My mother, my sister, 2 nieces, 2 nephews, and my brother and his wife will be there. I'm very excited to see my family! They all live in Florida, so I don't get over there very often.

I'm not taking my laptop, so if any of you write to me, I'm not ignoring you! I'm trying to be obedient to the Lord to truly take a break from my work and all it entails. But it's a short visit and I'll be back online next Wednesday. In the meantime, I have some blog posts already written and scheduled, including a book giveaway tomorrow. So, don't forget to drop by!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and I'll see you next Wednesday!

Reenactment of the War of 1812 - Fort McHenry

I took this video with my camera, but it's pretty awesome. I tried to load it on here my blog, but it was too big! So I put it on my website. And I have no idea how to edit it. It's about 15 mintues long, but at least stay until one of the cannons fires. It's pretty cool. Well, of course, I think so ! You can hear my voice in the background. I'm the one saying "awesome" a lot! Yes, I'm from California, and yes, I'm a big kid at heart. Enjoy!

http://www.mltyndall.com/BattleRenactment.html

God uses your past to create a beautiful future

If you're like me, there's probably many things in your past that you aren't proud of. Since I spent 37 years without God, you can imagine how much trouble I got into during those years. I was extremely wounded from my childhood, young, attractive, self-centered, and very volatile. When I look back, I cringe at some of the memories and ask God, why, why didn't you rescue me sooner? Before I hurt so many people, myself included. Before I ruined lives and created so much regret? I often battle tremendous guilt over some of the things I've done. Even though I know Jesus has forgiven me of all of it. Not only forgiven, but forgotten. Boy, do I praise Him for that!

Yet, it occurred to me lately that there's no way I could write the type of stories I write, there's no way I could write the type of characters I write about: broken, sinful, wounded, self-centered, vain, desperate characters, unless I had the exact past that I have. I began to wonder if God hadn't allowed me to fall so far into the pit just for this purpose. He always had ahold of the rope but as long as I was willing to keep moving downward, He was going to let me, because in His divine knowledge, He already knew that He wanted me to be a writer, and He already knew exactly the type of stories He wanted me to write, to reach certain people that He had already chosen to read my books so that they would come closer to Him.

Isn't that mind-boggling?? His incredible wisdom and knowledge astounds me. Then, I began to realize that my difficult childhood was also part of the plan, because without that, I wouldn't have fallen so deep and drifted so far from God.

How often do we complain about our bad childhood, or our abusive friends, or tragedies that have happened to us. When in reality, if we would only trust God, we would eventually see that He had a Good plan in the end?

But it goes so much deeper than that. Even our sins, our failings, He can use for His glory! Like the recovered drug addict who now helps addicts or the woman who used to be a prostitute but who now loves Jesus and she helps get young girls off of the street by telling them God loves them and there's another way.

It blows my mind! So, whether your past is filled with tragedies, difficulties, or sin, or all of the above, rest assured, God allowed it all for a reason. Everything!! Even your mistakes. (That doesn't mean your sin is good or that God approved of it in any way!) So, seek God's forgiveness, learn from them and ask God to show you the future He wants to create from your past.

Tune in next week when I'll give my thoughts on the precious moment when God calls you to do that task He's planned for you to do since before you were born.