My Review
I really liked how this Bible has an easy to follow reading plan. I think this will be a great tool for me.

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Lysa TerKeurst is a New York Times bestselling author and national speaker who helps everyday women live an adventure of faith. She is the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, author of 15 books, and encourages nearly 500,000 women worldwide through a daily online devotional. Her remarkable life story has captured audiences across America, including appearances on Oprah and Good Morning America. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and five children.

Visit the author’s website.

This Bible will help you live up to your God-given potential. Insightful daily devotions written by the women at Proverbs 31 Ministries help you maintain life’s balance in spite of today’s hectic pace. Dive into the beauty and clarity of the NIV Bible text paired with daily devotions crafted by women just like you—women who want to live authentically and fully grounded in the Word of God.

Product Details:

List Price: $34.99

Hardcover: 1536 pages

Publisher: Zondervan; Special edition (March 19, 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0310439361

ISBN-13: 978-0310439363

AND NOW…SOME SAMPLE PAGES (CLICK ON PAGES TO ENLARGE):

 

 

 

 

 

However, since I have some cute pictures, I’ll talk about the literal zoo. My family and I have memberships to the zoo and we love going there. I know some people don’t like seeing animals in cages, but I’m actually okay with it because I know the zoos are protecting species that may soon be gone. It makes me sad to see the diversity of life on our planet, and how it’s disappearing. Maybe I should accept it as the circle of life. Except I think back to creation and I feel like it’s our duty as human beings to care for the planet and all the living beings on earth.

Argh… well, I was going to add some cute pics of the zoo, but the photo uploader thingy isn’t working.

So, I guess we’ll just talk about the zoo. Do you have happy memories of the zoo? Or do zoos make you sad?

Where did the time go?

As part of my friend’s birthday celebration, we went to a nightclub. Now, anyone who knows me will tell you that the nightclub scene has just never been my thing. But that’s what she wanted to do for her birthday, so we went. It was kind of weird, doing something that I didn’t do back when I was of age to be doing such things. I concluded, about ten seconds after walking in the door, that I hadn’t missed out on much.

But there I was, dancing with my hubby, to a song that I remember from when I was young, and I wondered how it was possible that I’m not as young as I think I am. I certainly don’t feel very old, and sure, when I look in the mirror, I look a little older. But I feel the same.

My example of who I want to be when I grow up is my FIL. He’s 75, and he and his girlfriend are training to do a bicycle tour through Germany this fall. I had dinner with them the other night, and they casually mentioned that they’d ridden 30 miles that day, and were disappointed because their goal had been 60. I can’t even do that now! But that’s what I aspire to. My FIL is one of the youngest old guys I know, so maybe the key to staying young (and feeling young) is not acting like you’re old.

That said, I don’t think I’ll be going to any more nightclubs anytime soon.

I love traveling and having new experiences. I love learning about new cultures and people who are different from me. I love trying new foods. In essence, I am a xenophile.

Which is weird, because I hate change. So I guess I like experiencing new things, as long as I get to go back to my same old, same old.

I think that’s what I like about living in America. I love getting to see and experience the different cultures that exist all around us. I feel especially grateful that I have friends of different cultures because they teach me so many interesting things.

In terms of the wait, agent Rachelle Gardner just wrote a great post on the subject. It inspired me to talk a little about my waiting journey.

Here’s what I’ve learned about waiting.

1. Publishing really is a crapshoot. I’ve seen books that have made it that leave you scratching your head as to why, and also books that are excellent that sit in someone’s drawer for lack of publishing. As much as you want an explanation, you’re just not going to get one. It’s the same deal once a book is published. Excellent books miss the bestseller list, and really bad books make it. Why? The person who figures out the answer to that question will make gazillions in the industry.

So here’s what you do about it. Write the best book you can. Learn from the experts. Keep improving. Be willing to let go of your expectations. Understand that the journey is going to look a lot different than what you thought it would be.  Every single one of my friends from when I first got started (except those who quit) are now published. I never imagined that it would take this long for me. But it has. And ultimately, I have to be okay with that. My time will come. Hopefully before I die.

2. Take the waiting time to learn. I’ll never forget the early days of going to writer’s conferences. I ran into a woman I knew, and she proceeded to tell me how much she thought going to conferences was a waste of time because it was always the same information and same people, and she never learned anything. That writer is still not published. I contrast that with the time I sat next to bestselling author Joan Johnston at a small writer’s group. The workshop was geared mostly to beginners, with very basic information, but there was Joan, taking notes. At the break, she made a comment to me about how the presenter said something she hadn’t thought of before. The lesson I learned- even the pros have things they still need to learn.

3. Keep writing. I know so many people who spent years on that one book. And then, when that one book sold, they had nothing to come next. They struggled with how to start another new book, and couldn’t figure out how to get it written in a timely manner. I have completed somewhere between 15 and 20 books. I lost count, and that’s okay, because I imagine some of those books aren’t very good. But I know how to write one, and I know how to get it done. I’ve learned something new with every book. My fabulous agent, Chip MacGregor, says that eventually, we can go back and sell some of those old books, so maybe… someday.

4. It’s okay to be frustrated. I get really upset at people who want to offer pithy statements about bucking up and not letting you be upset about disappointments in the process. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had to screw a smile on my face as some Pollyanna gives me lame advice about my crushing blow. You suck it up, and when you can, do whatever it is you do when you’re angry and hurt and frustrated. Go ahead and cry. Write a cathartic piece about your feelings. Use those emotions in a scene that you’re writing. Sometimes, you just have to let the emotions be what they are. This does not mean you post a blog rant about the editor who rejected your masterpiece or send that same editor black roses. Make sure you have a small group of writer friends you can trust- talking about it with them can really help. My go-to group is willing to kick my butt when I need it (and sometimes when I don’t see it!) but also love on me just as much.

That said, there is a point at which you do have to pull yourself out of it and move on. I found a rejection letter the other day for a book that, at the time, was the book of my heart. I was depressed for WEEKS over that rejection. I was sure the editor was some kind of horribly mean human being for not seeing the beauty in my brilliant piece of work. But now, 8 years later, I looked at that letter, and went, “huh. I didn’t know that editor rejected one of my books.” It would be nice to do something with that book someday. But in the meantime, I’ve written at least ten other books, and I’ve been able to move on.

5. Your journey is your journey. I can’t tell you how many well-meaning (and sometimes not so well-meaning) people want to compare your journey to someone else’s. Heck, sometimes I want to compare my journey to someone else’s. But that’s not fair. The timing is just different for some people. Even once you sell a book or two or ten, you could have a dry spell of years without publishing a thing. Or you could consistently publish for the rest of your life. I don’t know what it will look like for me or for anyone else. As hard as it is, and as much as I want to analyze it and find a formula, there just isn’t one. So accept it. Accept your journey. Sure, you’re going to be upset and disappointed from time to time, but accept that piece of it. Think of it as a journey to the new world- you don’t know exactly where it is, or how long it’s going to take. And maybe, though you’re expecting to land in India, you’ll end up discovering a whole new continent.

Are you a writer? What’s your advice for people on the waiting portion of the journey?

Some of last year’s harvest.

Not as in, I am one, though to be honest, my brain feels like it is turning into one.

Actually, today’s post is more of a wishful thinking post because I am DYING to plant some vegetables. But given that we seem to be getting snow every Tuesday this month so far, I don’t dare. I have a few peas and some lettuce planted, but that’s about it. Plus, I’m really concerned about the whole GMO vegetable thing, and I think that’s going to make finding some nice seedlings a little harder for me this year.

Because I do want to be healthier and am trying so hard to eat more vegetables, I try a new vegetable in my garden every year.

I’ll be really honest here- I do not have a green thumb. Stuff grows in my garden, and I’m usually mystified at how it all worked out. I tend to grow more than my share of weeds because I don’t always know what is a weed until it’s too late. I also never really know if something is ripe, or overripe, or what. I just guess. I mean, I read the books and I think I know what I’m doing, but it’s really just me playing roulette with my plants. Some live, some die. Some taste good, others not so much.

But hey, I’m trying, so that has to count for something, right? Besides, even though my garden is a beautiful disaster, we still do get some yummy veggies that as of yet, have not killed us.

I’m also looking for more creative veggie recipes. Especially in terms of side dishes because I’m kind of bored with just a bowl of some veggie as a side. Surely there’s something more creative I can feed my family, right? I had a really yummy purple yam at a friend’s house once. I saw some in the store the other day and I bought them. I’m going to make them for dinner and hope I don’t mess it up. And that my kids like them. Maybe it’s weird, but the one thing I always buy at the store when my kids do the “buy me this” stuff is produce. If they point and demand in the produce aisle, the answer is almost always yes.

Do you have a garden? What do you like to grow? And if you’re not the gardening type, but like to eat veggies, I’d love to hear your yummy veggie suggestions.

I wanted to write something about being unique.  Only I don’t feel very unique and I don’t feel like I have anything unique to say.

And then I thought about writing about things that are useful, only that felt boring to me. So then I thought writing about useless things would be fun, but then I thought that might come off as being too negative. I’m in a funk, and I suspect that what I think is a little negative will sound really negative to others since my filter is clogged.

I could have written about unicorns. I like unicorns. Except I don’t have a picture of one, and really, what’s the point in writing about a unicorn if you don’t have a picture?

The next thing that came to mind was underwear. Which I KNOW no one wants to see, and that isn’t really what I was thinking of anyway. I was thinking of those jokes little kids tell where the punchline is always underwear, and it’s hysterically funny to the kids, but makes absolutely no sense to anyone else.

Actually, if we use underwear in the sense of the joke analogy, it makes perfect sense. Because it doesn’t. Which is kind of where all of my thoughts are going these days, so I guess, if you don’t take the word literally, my U word should be underwear.

Except that with all of this underwear talk, all of the spam bot troll freaks have now targeted my blog. This is why we don’t talk about underwear. Which I have, so I guess it’s too late now. Besides, I get a ton of spam bot trolls. Do they really think that by saying this is the best blog they’ve ever read I’m going to click their link?

Uh… yeah. Off topic, I know. It’s been that kind of week. I feel like I’m in the middle of a really bad joke that is supposed to be funny, only it’s not. But everyone but me is laughing. Actually, they’re not. It’s another bad analogy, I’m afraid. I guess I just feel really disjointed and out of touch with reality.

Maybe I should go find a unicorn.

The gist of the quote was about trusting in the goodness of God.

I’m dealing with a situation that really hurts right now. I talked to a friend about it today, and after she reassured me that things are going to be fine, she prayed over me. I’m ashamed to say I don’t remember most of the prayer. I had to interrupt her at one point because I was crying so hard I had to put the phone down and blow my nose. Mostly they were good tears.

But some were hard tears. Of realizing that despite the hard lessons I’ve learned, I still trust in the wrong people, and the wrong things.

So today, when I read that quote about the goodness of God, I realized that no matter what crap gets thrown my way, there is still something I can trust in. I may not like it, it may not be on the path I want to take, but regardless of my circumstances, God is good.

I keep thinking of how many times the Bible says to “Trust in the Lord.” I suppose if I had a fancy Bible app, it would tell me how many times that phrase appears. I know it’s a lot. I guess we have to be told so many times because we forget it a lot. Or at least I do. For now, though, I’m really glad to know there is something I can trust.

So there it is. The truth. I forgot my Q date. The worst part is, I’d been thinking of a very clever post for Q and I can no longer remember it.

*sigh*

This is what my life really is like. I’d re-date my posts so that it looks all nice and neat, but you know what? I’m leaving it messy. Because someday, people are going to look at my mixed up alphabet and think, “wow, someone else does that too.” Or maybe they’ll just think, “wow, there’s someone who even has it less together than I do.” And hey, if you’re a mixer upper like me, it’s okay. As I slowly lose my grip on my perfectionism, I’m finding that there are so many worse things in life than doing something like getting your alphabet out of order.

My name is Danica, and I skipped Q. Well, actually, I didn’t. I just put it after S. Tomorrow I’ll be back on track. Which letter is that?

The Salmon Faverolle is my chick. Her name is Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn was sick early on with some kind of weird eye/respiratory thing, but we gave her visine, neosporin in the eye, and antibiotics in the water, and she seems to have pulled through with no ill effects. I was a little worried about poor little Gwennie because the other chicks were getting lots of feathers, and she wasn’t. Then someone told me that boy chicks don’t feather out as quickly as girl chicks, so then I’ve been worried she was a boy. However, she’s starting to get more feathers, and they are looking more like girl feathers than boy feathers (they’re different colors). So I’m starting to feel a little more relieved and hopeful that we’ll have Gwendolyn around for the long haul.

Tomorrow is the three week anniversary of getting the babies, so she’s now just a little over three weeks old. Here are some pics from this evening.

The dog is not sure what he thinks of this Peep

I love my Peep so much!

We’re hoping these Peep feathers are girl feathers. Looking good so far!

Gwendolyn is kind of at the awkward stage where her feathers are coming in funny