My Recommended Weekend Getaway—a Great Escape

by | Oct 4, 2014 | Blog Posts, Features

                               Travel to the Land of My Dreams.

Land of My DreamsHere’s a book that’s got it all—love, loss, romance, rivalry, hope, betrayal, faith, uncertainty, the list goes on an on. In her debut novel, Land of My Dreams, Norma Gail superbly delivers a passionate, intriguing romance in magnificiently beautiful settings.

Be prepared to be transported from the amazing high desert mountains of New Mexico to the breathtaking misty Scottish Highlands. I fell in love with this book before I even started reading it!

The scenery is splendid and the characters come to life. Seriously, I interviewed the heroine, Bonny Bryant, here’s what she had to say:

Tell me a little about yourself 

My name is Bonny Bryant, and I live in the mountains outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I am an only child, and my parents were only children, also, so I have no family. I have long, curly, red hair and green eyes, which I inherited from my Scottish grandmother. I’m 5’2”, with fair skin, no freckles, and am often thought to be much more delicate than I really am.

I received my doctorate in American History and American Literature at the University of New Mexico, and was teaching there before I was 30 years old. My father and I co-wrote a course combining American history with the literature about and from different important time periods in our country’s history.

I love teaching, but my real goal in life is to be a wife and mother.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I have horses, and my favorite pastime is riding. I also enjoy hiking, camping, and fly fishing, anything to do with the outdoors. I like to ski and take my dad’s 1967 Land Cruiser out on 4-wheel drive trails.

 

I am an avid reader of both American and English literature, and prefer the classics that everyone hated in school. I also sing, play the piano, and write poetry.

 

What is your favorite color and why?

My favorite color is green, probably because I have always been told it brings out the color of my eyes. I also love pink, though it is not a color most redheads wear well.

 

What is your favorite food? Why is it your favorite?

New Mexican food. You notice I did not just say Mexican food. New Mexico is known for our traditional foods, and nothing in any other state compares. Green chile, red chile, fixed almost any way, with breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Sopapillas and Tres Leches cake are like ambrosia to me. I do a pretty good job of teaching a Scot to love my favorite foods, if I do say so myself. I took quite a bit of it with me when I moved to Scotland, packed on dry ice.

 

My home state is a great place to live. We have very strong traditions from the large Native American and Hispanic population. I’m really used to a multi-cultural setting. It makes things so much more interesting. Chile means home, special times, and comfort.

 

What are your passions?

The outdoors is very important to me. I think if you took me out of the mountains for long I would curl up and die. One thing that attracted me to Scotland was the mountains. I haven’t been disappointed. They are spectacular.

I like Celtic music and the bagpipes, and prefer classic literature over modern fiction. Give me a good book by Charles Dickens or the Bronte sisters any day.

 

What is it about your antagonist that that irks you the most, and why?

Adam Lawson is so full of himself. He has always treated me like a possession, rather than a person, but I can’t seem to get over him. He was my first love and I always thought it would be romantic to marry my first love. Even after he almost destroyed my world, I can’t stop dreaming of him.

He’s very competitive and career oriented, with strong political ambitions. Life with him would never be simple, but there’s a place in my heart that seems reserved for him, no matter what. He makes me so angry, but he gets this look in his deep brown eyes, and I melt.

 

What or who means the most to you in your life? What, if anything, would you do to keep him/her/it in your life?

Kieran MacDonell is everything I ever dreamed of, even if he is 10 years older than me. I can’t describe the feeling when he walks into the room. His eyes are pools I could swim in forever. Just thinking about him gives me the shivers. It’s really tough to be hung up on two such handsome men. The sheer size of him overwhelms me. The feel of his hand on my back or my hand in his is irresistible. Of course, the accent and the kilt are enough to sweep any woman off her feet. Add in the bagpipes and incredible home on Loch Garry—how could any woman resist.

We understand the immensity of each other’s loss, the doubt that God has any part to play in our personal lives. Most of my friends don’t understand that and lecture me. Kieran knows because he’s been there.

The first time I saw him across the room at a faculty meeting, I was drawn to him. When we met it was like two souls being pulled together like a magnet. He is sweet, thoughtful, self-sacrificing, and gentle.. He is my wild, romantic dream, and the adventure of being loved by him is priceless. I am willing to change my entire life—give up everything I have ever known, to be with Kieran

 

What one thing would you like readers to know about you that may not be spelled out in the book in which you inhabit?

I come across as being really sure of myself and brave, but I am just a scared little girl on the inside. I’m basically insecure, but I act as if I’m in control because I’m afraid that if people see how weak I really am they won’t want to be with me. The brave sounding things I do are really running away from things that hurt me.

 

If you could tell your writer (creator) anything about yourself that might turn the direction of the plot, what would it be?

I want to be a wife and mother. I only stayed in school and went for two doctorates because Adam wasn’t ready to get married until his law career was on the upswing. I know he thinks marriage to the right woman would help his political ambitions, but if you would just make his character straight-forward and honest, I would go for him in a minute. I want to trust him and feel as if I really matter to him.

Kieran is really exciting and quite the hunk, but he isn’t perfect either.

Couldn’t you have made one of them Mr. Perfect?

Norma Gail—Author, Land of My Dreams

Norma Gail—Author                                                                                                                                                                                    Land of My Dreams

Meet Norma: Norma Gail’s debut contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, set in Scotland and New Mexico, released in April 2014. She is a former Bible Study Fellowship discussion leader who established the first weekly women’s Bible studies in her church in 2003 and continues to lead a weekly small group. Her devotionals, poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She has led weekly women’s Bible studies for 19 years. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, FaithWriters, and the New Mexico Christian Novelists. She is a former RN and homeschool/soccer mom who loves family research, history, and Scotland. Norma lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 38 years. They have two adult children.

Connect with Norma:

 

Stressed?

by | Sep 26, 2014 | Blog Posts, Divorcing Your Divorce, Features

8560655_sI wanted to share with you some AWESOME advice from my friend, Trina Bresser Matous, who is my featured guest blogger today. I personally needed to read this post today because my procrastination, my “tendency to not be early” and my inability to say “no” cause me TREMENDOUS STRESS. So, without further adieu, here’s Trina!

 

Too soon … way too soon. Every year my neighbor’s maple tree started turning color – which I love – in August – which I didn’t love at all. The tree was a reminder far earlier than I wanted that summer was coming to an end. I’d see the first tinge of red in mid August, while every other tree was still green. By the end of September, when most trees were just starting their color transition, this tree had lost most of it leaves.

Then, one year, the tree didn’t turn color in August. A fluke, I thought, but the next year, the tree again didn’t turn color in August. Curious, I asked my neighbor. It turned out he was using a weed trimmer to cut the grass around the tree. Not only was the grass trimmed, the bark at the bottom of the tree was repeatedly gashed. Loss of the tree’s protective bark meant the mid-summer heat and low rainfall caused a higher level of stress on this tree than a healthy tree experienced. Who knew?

Once my neighbor allowed the bark to grow as it should, the tree wasn’t stressed and was able to retain its green leaves longer.

That got me to thinking about stress. I wondered if there were any similarities between the tree and me. And I realized there were. I experience stress. Some of it, like the summer heat and lack of rainfall, is beyond my control. Yet other stress, like gouging the tree’s bark, is within my control. Could I, like the tree, flourish better in the circumstances I found myself in if I minimized the controllable stress? The answer seems to be yes! Here are three areas I unduly add stress to my life.

 

  • Procrastination I hate to admit it, but I am a procrastinator. I often seem to put off what needs to be done until only days or even hours before it needs to be done. My quick assessment of the time something will take is always an underestimation. When I finally get to absolutely having to get the project done, I generally haven’t left enough time. The first step to changing just about anything is recognizing that a problem exists. As I recognize my procrastination and more importantly, the resulting stress, I can begin to take action. Knowing I work best under deadlines, I now break projects into parts and set a deadline for each part. I have also begun to allow more time than I think I need. Finishing ahead of schedule is much less stressful than being behind!

 

  • Leaving Late I am almost always late. I have joked that I was born two weeks late and have never caught up. But the joke has serious stress consequences. More than once I have driven like a maniac trying to shave two or three minutes off my travel time so I won’t arrive quite as late as it looked like I would be. Why am I late? Generally for a combination of two reasons. First, I underestimate (again!) how long it will take me to get ready. Second, I try to squeeze one more task into the few minutes I have before I have to leave. To combat the first, I plan to leave at least 10-15 minutes earlier than I think I need to. This gets me moving earlier and leaves the bit of margin I need to walk out of the house with enough time to arrive on time. Dealing with the second is a bit harder as I just need to recognize when I need to be leaving and leave without adding the one more thing. It helps to know my tendency and decide in advance that I don’t want to deal with the stress of leaving late.

 

  • Saying Yes I used to think it an honor to be asked to help with whatever someone was asking me to help with. I’d fill my time with all kinds of tasks and leave no room for getting to the things the Lord was calling me to. I’ve learned that saying no is not a bad thing and I don’t need to feel guilty about saying no. I still love to help out when I can, yet am much more willing to say no.

 

How about you? Are there stresses in your life that are within your control? Can you make a few adjustments that will remove some of your stress? Are there ways you can add some margin to your life?

Trina

Trina Bresser Matous

 

By Trina Bresser Matous

Meet Trina: Trina has a Masters of Arts in Christian Ministry from Ashland Theological Seminary and is a passionate Bible teacher and writer. For over 20 years, she has shared Biblical truths in compelling and memorable ways as a Bible study leader and a member of the Restorative Prayer Team at her church. Her three week, 2,400 mile trip through Turkey in a rental car visiting historic sites including Istanbul, Ephesus, Cappadocia, Haran and Antioch, as well as two trips to Israel’s holy sites bring reality to Trina’s teaching and writing. Additionally, Trina is an avid birder, loves to cook, travel, work in her garden, and knit, especially lace. She and her husband live in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan.

Connect with Trina:

 

  • Trina_Book

I Love Trina’s New Release! Paul’s Letters to the Early Church (Click here to see my book review)

Reading and studying Paul’s letters can be a daunting task. Verses often require a great deal of study, prayer, and meditation in order to gain an adequate understanding. But don’t lose heart! God reveals His Word to those who earnestly seek Him (Jer. 29:13). Paul’s Letters to the Early Church is designed to assist you in your relationship with God, help you understand difficult passages, shed new light on familiar verses, and gain an appreciation for statements made within the confines of ancient cultural practices. You will learn about Paul and his intense desire to see both Jews and Gentiles not only know about the work of his Savior, Jesus Christ, but also personally experience the love, grace, mercy, and redemption offered by the Father through the sacrifice of the Son. As you learn more about the history and purpose of each verse, you will find yourself growing in wisdom and knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s Fair is Fair

by | Jul 31, 2014 | Blog Posts, Divorcing Your Divorce, Features, Uncategorized

gold nuggetsWhat do you do when someone treats you unfairly?

My dad always told me, “Kendra, life is NOT fair, ” and “the world doesn’t owe you ANYTHING!”

I hated it when he said that, and he said it a lot, because, I was always wanting “more, more, more” even though I had far more than I ever needed. I just didn’t see it that way at the time. (more…)

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