My wonderful Grandmother H. loves genealogy and has traced our roots far back into America’s early days. Thanksgiving is tomorrow and as I look back to the first thanksgiving celebrated by those families who fled to America for the freedom to worship as they saw fit, and one of their leaders, William Bradford, is my ever-so-great grandfather. He was also the one to write down the history of the pilgrims in I book that I have read and love called “Of Plymouth Plantation.”

To celebrate this thanksgiving my family is going up to wild waste lands of the north (a.k.a. Dallas) and spend thanksgiving with my ever-so-great (actually it is only one great) aunt and other relatives. What are you going to do this Thanksgiving?

Holy Father, I thank you for my home. I know that sometimes I look at other people and wonder why I can’t live in a nice big home like theirs but then I remember most people in the world live in tents of in tiny structures and our very thankful to have them.

Thank you for the food that is always in my home in abundance.

Thank you for my church that honors you and is so different from most churches.

Most of all Lord, I want to thank you today for your patience with me. I know that I am stiff clay but thank you for never giving up on me.

Holy Father, I thank you for my home. I know that sometimes I look at other people and wonder why I can’t live in a nice big home like theirs but then I remember most people in the world live in tents of in tiny structures and our very thankful to have them.

Thank you for the food that is always in my home in abundance.

Thank you for my church that honors you and is so different from most churches.

Most of all Lord, I want to thank you today for your patient with me. I know that I am stiff clay but thank you for never giving up on me.

This week we turn our thoughts toward our heavenly father to thank him for all he has done in the past year. I know that Thanksgiving Day is not ‘til Thursday but I wanted to give you my list today.

Father, I thank you for all the many rich blessings that you have given me this year. First of all, as always, I would like to thank you for the wonderful family you have given me. Thank you for a caring Mom and Dad, and four wonderful sisters and a great brother to share my life with. Thank you for your creation which I am privileged to live in every day and see the marvelous works of your hands. Thank you God for all the writing opportunities that you have given me and for the new computer that you provided which makes it easier for me to write. Thank you for comforting my acing heart and helping me to turn to you.

To be continued….

P.S. sorry for leaving a very important piece of information out of Saturdays post. Please send all submissions to thedestinyofone@Yahoo.com

One of the things that is hard for any writer it to have someone criticize their work. Criticism can be one of a writer’s greatest tools if they know how to use it. Early in my writing, I hated criticism and I wouldn’t hear anyone say anything against my writing. As I have grown up and started wanting to take my writing to the next level and in order to that, I had to have people help me by telling me how to improve. It was hard at first because my early stuff just wasn’t that good (I still need improvement) and needed a lot of work.

In order to be a really good writer you must be willing to accept and even seek out other people’s criticism. I admit that it isn’t fun when someone shows me that I keep making the same mistake over and over again but I always keep in mind that only the people who really care about you are willing to take the time to try to help you improve your work.

Now it is time for you to get involved! I will now be accepting submissions for Writing Saturday! I hope a lot of you will join in.


Note: The Schooling at Home Etsians Team is having a spectacular blog
giveaway beginning Saturday, November 22 and running until the prizes
run out! Visit the SHETEAM thread for details:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5921551

My two nieces have been her all this week and it have been so much fun. Who doesn’t like a little kid saying that you’re their favorite “Auntie” or begging you to take them for a walk with that puppy dog look that only little kids can give you. My youngest sister it nine so it has been a while since we have had little kids in the house. In a way, a really miss have little kids around. Though, I have to admit, I have gotten used to not having to work around nap times.

Well that’s about all for today (what is wrong with me, my posts are getting a little boring) see you all tomorrow (that is, if you’re not so board you will come back for writing Saturday).

Good morning everyone! I just wanted to share with you one on my favorite Verses with you today. It comes from one of my favorite books in the Bible, 1 Peter.

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:13-16

In conclusion to our three part post on standards I would just like each of you to post your thought on the subject. What is the hardest thing about having higher standards? What helps you not to compromise? Are there any standards that your parents hold that you don’t understand?

I hope that all of you will leave a comment, however short, and be encouraged by what others write.

This is post number 100! Thank you to all of you for reading my blog!

One of the things that I was told early on in my writing was that one of the best things you could do was to get published in magazines. It really isn’t that hard to get published in some of the smaller magazines why don’t you give it a try!

I have already been published in about five different publications including some of my favorite magazines which are, His Wonders, Ladies in Waiting, and Words from the Heart. There are a lot of great publications out there and if you are interested in getting them and writing for them, you can contact Stacy Ryan and ask her for her the list of over forty publications that she has.

Happy writing!

P.S. I am running out of ideas for Writing Saturday if you have any ideas of questions, please leave a comment or can email it to me at thedestinyofone@yahoo.com

Good morning everyone! I thought we might take a break today from our series on standards and just talk about what is going on in my life. I find it a very nice break every once in a while when we have been talking about very important series subjects for a while to take a back and to talk of less important things.

My family had a wonderful time at the zoo on Tuesday. We spent all morning and a good part of the afternoon there and then, on our way home, we decided to stop by Hobby Lobby and hit a sale on patterns. Someone at Hobby Lobby told us about a sale on different patterns at Jo Anne’s Crafts and fabrics so we headed over there.

I wish that I wasn’t on dial-up so that I could post a picture of all the patterns we got but I suppose that I will just have to leave it up to your imagination.

One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. -Romans 14:5&6

This is where we left off yesterday in our discussion of different standards. You see, in the verse five it says that some people think that some days our special and some think that they are all the same. Notice that Paul did not say that one way of thinking was right and the other was wrong but rather that each person should be convinced in his own mind. This means that you might be convicted in your own mind that you shouldn’t celebrate Christmas and I am convinced in my mind that it is fine to celebrate Christmas.

Let my make it clear, that just because someone has different conventions then you doesn’t mean that they are wrong and it doesn’t mean that you are wrong. One of the things that we as a church need to do better at is not to condemn people for having convictions different then our own. Just because the Smiths watch movies that you don’t approve of shouldn’t keep you from being friends with the Smiths’. On the flip side if you are the Smiths, just because that other family in your church chooses not to watch those movies doesn’t mean that they are being over controlling. Please, allow each other to be different!

To be continued….

We all have different standards for what movies we watch, what books we read, what we wear, and a lot of other things. I am very choosy about what I put before my eyes and what I wear but you might be even choosier or you may wonder at why I have chosen not to watch, read, or wear certain things. Standards are important things to have but if we all have different standards, who is right and who is wrong? This question as puzzled people since the beginning but the Bible gives us a good idea on how to deal with our different standards.

In the early church, there was a war of ideas going on. Some people told the new, gentile believers that they had to follow the Jewish law while some of the gentile believers think that they had to change a thing. All of it came to a head about meat that had been sacrificed to idols and Paul wrote to them and said;

One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. -Romans 14:5&6 NIV.

To be continued….

Hello everyone! I hope that your day is going well. My dad has Veterans Day off so we are taking this opportunity to take a trip to the zoo. We love to go to zoos and museums as a family and spend hours looking at the amazing creatures that God has made or stand looking at an object from His-story. What is your families’ favorite pass time?

As you know, I have an Etsy store (http://www.destinysdesigns.etsy.com) in which I sell jean quilts. I am now also part of an Etsy group called Schoolers at Home on Esty or SHE for short. Every person who is a member of SHE is either a homeschooling parent or a homeschooled child. If you want to buy items that are made by SHE, all you have to do is go to Etsy and but SHEteam into the search box and you will find several pages of handmade goodies all made by home schoolers.

Oh! I just found out that I am also a member of the Texas Etsy team. If you what to see items made by people who live in and love Texas, just put TeamEtsyTx in the search box.

One of the things that has been the hardest thing for me as an author to do, is to create different and well formed characters. In my early fiction, all my looked like they had been made with the same cookie cutter but as I wrote more and more I learned keys to how to developed my characters and make each one unique and believable.

So what is my secret? I take some time before I ever write one word of a story to develop my characters. I decided what they are going to sound like, are they going to have a accent or maybe a phrase that they drop into their sentences. Then I decided what kind of corks I am going to give them, what are they afraid of? What are their loves and hates? Then I also think about this person’s background, what happened to make them who they are? After I have done all this I set the character loose in my story and I have a well formed unique character.

I wrote yesterdays post when I was dealing with a Tracy. As some of my early readers know, my sister Rose and I did a monthly girls group called Genteel Blooms were we taught the girls homemaking skills and then did a Bible study with them. One of the girls who came wanted everything done here way and to be the center of attention. She was a hard person to love and though her God showed me that it is so important to work hard to show his love to the people who are hard to love.

Now, I want all of you to join me in a discussion on the story form yesterday and what we can all do to be better ambassadors our God.

By Sarah H.


“Have you met Tracy?” Rachel asked one of the five girls standing in a little huddle in the fellowship hall.

“Tracy who?” Karen asked

“Tracy Smith,” Rachel replied.

“I think I have,” Hannah responded. “Isn’t she the one that is always wearing the really low cut dresses?”

“That’s the one,” Rachel responded.

“Oh, so she was the girl sitting in front of me who couldn’t keep her hands off her boyfriend. Didn’t that girl hear the pastor’s sermon on purity last week?” Karen asked, shaking her head.

“Well, she does go to public school,” Emily said with a knowing tone. Emily looked over at Bethany, who remained silent with her arms crossed.

“Public school is ruining that girl,” Karen agreed. “Did you see her this morning? She had on so much make-up I don’t think you could see her face.” This brought giggling from all the girls; all that is, except Bethany, who sat just listening.

“I sat behind her two weeks ago, and she kept talking through the whole service. She has a horrible mouth. Well, she didn’t say that many bad words, but she was disrespectful to her mom and she was criticizing every one,” Hannah said.

“Oh, I know it,” Rachel said with a nod. “My mom says that she is a manipulator and can get her mom to do anything.”

“Maybe her mom needs to learn who is in control,” Emily interjected. “Why, if Tracy were my child she would be leaning a few of life’s hard lessons right now.”

“That girl needs to be out of the public school system and in her home or she will end up getting her self in jail or something,” Karen remarked.

“I don’t think Tracy would …” Bethany started to say but was interrupted.

“And to think that she signed that pledge of abstinence a year ago,” Rachel said shaking her head.

“It is sad, but she is running her life,” Hannah said. All the other girls agreed, and there was a pause for a moment.

“Excuse me, girls, but whose ambassadors are we?” Bethany asked, and four sets of eyes turned to her with questioning looks. “I mean, listen to yourselves! You are all going on and on about how bad Tracy is and what she needs to do, but not one of you is even close to fixing the problem.”

Hannah, Rachel, Emily and Karen looked blankly at Bethany. Bethany sighed.

“It would seem from this conversation that Tracy’s crime is that her parents have not chosen to home school her and that her greatest issue in life is that she has chosen to date. But is that her real issue? The four of you are so busy looking at her make up, low cut dresses, and her boy friend that not one of you sees the real problem.

“Rachel, whose ambassador are you? Or for what? Homeschooling? What about you, Hannah? Are you now the official advocate for modesty? How about you, Emily? Are you now part of the purity police force? And you, Karen, when did you begin to listen to what was going on behind you instead of the sermon?

“Really, you girls you ought to be ashamed. Whose ambassador are we supposed to be? Homeschooling’s? Courtship’s? “Respect’s? Well, I don’t know about you, but I am not an ambassador for homeschooling, courtship, honoring your parents, or even the pastor. I am not even the advocate of abstinence, prayer in schools, modesty, or any of the other things that you have mentioned. I am an ambassador for my lord Jesus Christ, and nothing else, I hope.

“You guys, Tracy has issues, I know. But you are talking about masking symptoms of a disease, not finding a way to cure it. Tracy’s problem is not that she is going to public school, or that she is dating, nor even that she is wearing revealing clothes. Tracy’s problem, Tracy’s disease is that she doesn’t have God.

“Which one of you has tried to be her friend? Which one of you has tried to love her and show her the way to God? Until you lead her to the point were she is broken at the feet of the cross, nothing will change Tracy. It isn’t that homeschooling isn’t a good thing. It’s not even that I wouldn’t like to see her stop dating and start having godly relationships. Rather, it’s that until you give her God it won’t make any difference.

“We have been sent to this earth to bring salt and light to a world that desperately needs it. We have been called to live radically different lives to be a witness to a country that is going downhill. But if we start preaching step sixteen before we have even said anything about step one, they are going to be confused and not listen to us any more.

“Have we forgotten that we are the privileged few? Not many kids are raised in radical churches and radical homes. We have been given much but we must remember that to whom much is given, much is expected. God did bless us with believing, homeschooling parents, not so that we would walk around with a holier-then-thou attitude. He gave it to us so that we could be his lights in a dark room.

“Tracy does not need to hear a sermon from you on how to dress; she needs to know that there is a white robe waiting for her in heaven if she will believe in Jesus. She doesn’t need us to tell her about how she is being brainwashed in school; she needs us to tell her that there is a God willing to wash her sins away and make them white as snow. She doesn’t need to be told that her love life is wrong; she needs to be told that there is a God that loves her and will fill the emptiness that is obviously in her heart.

“We will have many Tracys in our lives, girls, and they need us to be ambassadors from God to them. In order for us to do that, though, we have to deicide whose ambassador we are. I am my Lord and Savior’s, for even though I have never been ‘as bad as most,’ I killed Jesus with my sins, and he spilled his blood for me as much as he did for the murderer and the adulteress. It will be hard, I know. I don’t like Tracy and girls like her, but Christ spilled his blood for them, and he wants her to know that. Can I despise one to whom God extends his love?

“Let us decide today, girls, for whom or for what we are ambassadors.”

Would you like to share this with your readers? You my copy this to your blog as long as it still has my name on it and a link back to my blog.

Now that the elections are over I will soon be back to posting regularly. Tomorrow I will work hard to post something worth reading. May God bless you and our nation.

I worked early voting some so I am very tired. If you haven't voted make sure that you vote on Tuesday! Have a great day.