Diary of a Busy Mom: How the Heck Did I Used to Do It?

I have just one question to ask. How the heck did I used to do it? Work outside of the house, I mean. Gosh, I'm only three weeks into it and it seems like I'll never be able to juggle it all. 

Is it because I'm older now? Is it because I'm trying to hold onto book promotion work while starting up my real estate career? Is it because it's summer and the girls are home more? 

It's probably a combination of all those things. In the end, I know it will all come together. I'm highly organized, so I just need to stop and think about how to accomplish what I need to do each day. Say a prayer or two for me. 

CFBA: Shenandoan Dreams by Lisa Belcastro

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingShenandoah DreamsOakTara Publishers (July 1, 2014)byLisa Belcastro



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lisa Belcastro lives with her family on Martha’s Vineyard. She loves chocolate, gardening, outdoor activities, cooking, laughing, reading, traveling, a healthy dose of adventure, and her cat Ben, who keeps her company while she spends hours working at the computer.

She was inspired to write Shenandoah Nights, the first book in the Winds of Change trilogy, while chaperoning two Tisbury School summer sails with her daughter, Kayla, aboard the schooner Shenandoah. The weeklong adventure, sans electricity, Game Boys, iPods and modern conveniences, kindled her imagination to dream of an altogether different voyage.

In addition to writing romance novels, Lisa currently pens the cuisine column for Vineyard Style magazine. She has worked as a staff and freelance reporter and photographer for The Chronicle of the Horse and as assistant editor at The Blue Ridge Leader. She has written articles for USA Today, Dressage (London), USA WEEKEND Magazine, The Blue Ridge Leader and Sidelines.

When she’s not at her desk, Lisa is living in paradise, volunteering at her daughter’s school, serving in her church community, planting and weeding her numerous gardens, trying to run a marathon a month, or walking the beach looking for sea glass.




ABOUT THE BOOK

What if she met the man of her dreams...in another century? Tisbury, Massachusetts, Martha s Vineyard. It s just a dream, Melissa Smith whispers as she stares into the intense eyes of a man dressed in Colonial clothes, as though stepping out of an American Revolution movie set. A school chaperone with Holmes Hole Elementary, she d boarded the old schooner Shenandoah for a weeklong educational sail. But they are not visiting Plimoth Plantation, the Boston Tea Party Museum, or the Concord Bridge reenactment. They re sailing the waters around the island of Martha s Vineyard. Yet, when she awakes in Cabin 8, the captain claims to be Isaiah Reed, who sailed the original Shenandoah in the eighteenth century. He cannot possibly be real, Melissa thinks. And traveling back in time is impossible. But days pass, and she s still in 1770. What if Isaiah, who is simply too handsome to be real, is real? What if the fire he ignites in her from barely a touch isn t in her imagination? Can a dream last for weeks on end? If so, how will she find her way home...to the twenty-first century? And can she bear to leave the one man who has captured her heart, when everything in her longs to stay? A Vineyard Romance Romance, history, adventure. Get swept into the exciting Winds of Change series.

If you liked to read the first chapter of Shenandoah Dreams, go HERE.

A Biblical Definition of Wisdom by Richard Capriola, Author of A Nation Under Judgment

What does it mean to be One Nation Under God? Our Founding Fathers believed it was more than a political slogan. Have we strayed from their vision? A Nation Under Judgment focuses on issues currently facing our nation including hunger, poverty, the environment and marriage. These and other issues are reviewed from both a Scriptural point of view and a social policy point of view. Readers are empowered to consider whether our nation is moving away from being One Nation Under God.

Purchase The Book:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Goodreads

A Biblical Definition of Wisdom

            As a Christian parent I must admit I didn’t give much thought to wisdom while raising my son. However, seven years ago I began writing what was intended to be a little book about wisdom. The first task was to define wisdom and that eventually led to the creation of A Nation Under Judgment.

            How do you define wisdom? For some it’s measured by a person’s level of knowledge and learning or by one’s level of education. Dictionaries define wisdom as philosophic and scientific learning. Other definitions of wisdom include sound judgment, good insight, or common sense. Native Americans believe wisdom is earned only after living a long life that brings learning and experience.

            These definitions have merit, but they fall short of a biblical definition of wisdom. Biblical wisdom can be defined as the ability to see things from God’s point of view. As Christians, our wisdom grows when we understand and accept God’s point of view. The same is true of nations; they show wisdom when they align their policies with God’s view.

            Without wisdom people can find themselves in trouble and countries risk disaster. The further a nation strays from God’s point of view, the closer it comes to being a nation under judgment.

            We live in a nation that prides itself on being “one nation under God.” We ask for God’s blessing in songs like “God Bless America” by Irving Berlin. Our Supreme Court opens every session with “God save the United States and this Honorable Court.” The president and other politicians pandering for our votes give speeches that end with “God bless America.”

            But what does it mean to be “one nation under God?” Have the words become merely a patriotic slogan? Do they have value only in times of national crises, when we feel threatened? Are we a nation asking for God’s protection and blessings while turning away from His point of view?

            As a nation “under God” do we see things from God’s point of view when shaping national policies? Or have we lost our wisdom as a nation?  When we create polices on hunger, homelessness, poverty, protecting the environment and marriage, are we following God’s point of view - or a political agenda? What does it say about our values when one of every fifty children lacks sufficient food, in a nation that wastes 40 percent of its food? These are important questions that must be asked if we value being a nation “under God” because the answers may point to a nation moving away from God’s point of view and losing its wisdom.

            Our Founding Fathers knew that we could not indefinitely exist apart from God’s point of view. George Mason warned that providence would punish national sins with national calamities. Thomas Jefferson said “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just and that his justice cannot sleep forever.” These great men understood that our nation’s future rests on its commitment to live by the words “one nation under God” and that we must create national polices that reflect His point of view rather than policies that conform to a political agenda.

            Have we lost our wisdom as a nation – our ability to see things from God’s point of view? Ultimately the answer to that question will determine if we are headed toward being a nation under judgment.

Richard Capriola spent many years serving as a hospital chaplain. He completed four years of

Clinical Pastoral Education in preparation for his chaplaincy work. In addition to his pastoral care experience, he has served as a mental health counselor at both a regional crisis center and a psychiatric hospital.

Connect with Richard Capriola:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

Mailbox Monday - July 14

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

It was a slow week around here. We got back from the Outer Banks on Saturday morning. Not as much mail this time as when we usually go away, which means I didn't have a ton of paper to plow through.

The newly released Four shipped to our place on July 8th and was waiting for our daughter when we got home.

Brace yourself for some numbers: Four is a collection of a quarter of short stories from the Divergent trilogy, each told from the point of Tobias Eaton, Divergent's “Four.” Collectively these stories, all of which were issued before as eBooks, serve as a revealing prequel to Veronica Roth's stirring series. By rendering the back-story of one of Divergent's prime movers, Four opens a portal to the mysterious time before Tris chose Dauntless. (P.S. This hardcover edition contains scenes that did not appear in the eBook versions.)

Also in the pile was A Wedding in Provence by Ellen Sussman.

What could be more idyllic than a wedding in Provence? That's what Olivia and Brody think when they invite their closest friends and family to spend their wedding weekend with them. But when Olivia's older daughter from her first marriage invites a man she met on the plane to join her, the delicate balance of the entire weekend is upset. Soon Olivia's best friend, the owner of the inn who is hosting the wedding, discovers that her husband has cheated on her. Then Brody's mother shows up without his father, who has gone into hiding. How can one choose love in the midst of chaos? Told from the point of view of Olivia and her two daughters, A Wedding in Provence is a moving novel about love, trust, secrets and family.

What did you receive?

This Day in History: U.S. Women Win World Cup

On this day in 1999, the U.S. women's soccer team defeated China to win their second Women's World Cup. Both teams were talented with tons of international experience. In 90 minutes of regulation, the Chinese managed only two shots on the U.S. goal. But when U.S. star Michelle Akers had to leave the game after collapsing, the momentum swung China's way. After a full 120 scoreless minutes, the teams entered a shootout, in which each would be given five penalty shots on goal.The score was tied 4 - 4 when American Brandi Chastain faced China's goalie Gao Hong. "She boomed a kick into the upper-right corner of the net, then ran and ripped off her jersey in celebration. The picture of Chastain celebrating on her knees clad in her sports bra became the enduring image of the match."

For more information, please visit http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/us-women-win-world-cup

Wordless Wednesday

Balancing Nutrition and Participation in School Lunches

On July 5, 2014, Fox News ran an article in its politics section titled, "Michelle Obama faces off with GOP on school lunch rules." As part of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, more fruit, vegetables and whole grains are required in school meals, along with less sodium, sugar and fat. As the article indicates, it was the first update to school lunch rules in decades.

The School Nutrition Association, which originally supported these standards, is now concerned because some school districts are losing money due to lower student participation rates. Diane Pratt-Heavner, a spokeswoman for the association states that according to federal data, "More than 1 million fewer students eat lunch at school each day since the first round of standards went into effect in 2012, following decades of steadily increasing participation." She goes on to say, "How can we call these standards a success when they are driving students away from the program?"

House Representative Robert Aderholt of Alabama authored a House bill to fund the Agriculture Department next year to give districts a chance to apply to skip the requirements for one year. He said lunch rules go too far and came too fast for school districts to handle. A vote by the full House is expected after its July Fourth break.

I don't know that skipping the requirements for a year is the answer, but sitting on the Food Advisory Council for our district has allowed me to learn more about what is going on in our local school cafeterias. The largest obstacles the cafeteria managers seem to be facing are waste--because kids who do participate are forced to take vegetables they don't want to eat that end up in the trash can--and lower participation rates. Salad bars where kids can choose what they want to eat seem to be very popular in our school district, but the requirements state cafeteria workers must place the vegetables on the students' trays. We are seeing kids toss those "required" vegetables in the garbage in lieu of those they can choose on their own from the salad bar. In a country where data shows 49 million citizens live in food insecure households (2012), and yet, approximately 40 million tons of food is wasted by US households, retailers and food services each year, this type of waste is almost a sin.

As a mom, I've seen both of my girls who used to participate in our school lunch program, insist upon home lunches since the new standards rolled out. It's not because I pack their lunches with all kinds of junk foods. I just make sure they have the foods they want to eat: carrots, grapes, salad, low sugar treats, and granola. I can also give them an extra treat if they have stayed away from junk food at home--something the cafeteria staff can't do. But let's face it, they don't want sugar free cookies made with whole wheat flour anyway.

Can we get to a better balance for nutrition standards that allows us to reduce waste and tackle our country's hunger problems? I hope so, because this shouldn't be a political issue. It is a moral issue. People shouldn't be going hungry when we are wasting so much food.