If blog posts become a bit spotty over the next couple of days it is because I am busy taking care of my siblings. My mom took my sister Rose on her graduation trip (have a lot of fun Rose!), so I am in charge.

Well, I know that this is short but I need to go. Have a great day!

We all have things that keep us from loving our siblings as we should. That was the point of our story yesterday. Some of us fill our lives so full of activities outside the home that we don’t leave time for people. Some of us feel like our siblings are a burden and just don’t want to spend time with them. Others just feel so much responsibility for their siblings that they end up fussing at them and bossing them around.

How do we overcome these things? How do we love our siblings like we should? As with many things in life, the solution is much easier said than done.

If your life is so full of activities that you just don’t have time to spend with your siblings (and watching movies with them doesn’t count), try to take some of the activities out of your life. This can be very hard, because there are a lot of really great activities to get involved in, none of which are more important than your siblings.

One of the hardest things to deal with is when you feel like your siblings are a burden. It is always hard to change your attitude toward people. One of the best ways to go about this is to pray and ask God to change your heart, and then acting like they aren’t a burden even when you don’t feel like it. Often your feelings will follow your action.

If you feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility, take a deep breath and remember that you are not the parent.

Do any of you have some ideas or helpful tips?

The cast;
Mary Beth is twenty years old, shy, sweet and cares deeply for those in need. She is the second child of five siblings and her greatest pleasure is being with her family.

Anna Joy, is a fifteen-year-old girl who is just trying to survive high school. She is part of a very growing family (number eight was born recently) and is close to her older sister but wishes she had time to have friends outside the family.

Maria Rose is 18 and has just finished school. She has a passion for writing, and also is very lonely and feels left out at times. She is close to her family, especially her 17 year old sister.

“Mary Beth! Could you please come play with me?” Mary Beth’s little brother calls from outside her room.

“I can’t I have to go to work,” Maria Beth says as she finishes dressing. She grabs her purse and keys and runs out the door, whishing she could play with her little brother instead of going to work.

Later that day…

“Mary Beth! Could you come play with us,” her little brother asked.

“Sorry I just can’t right now, I have to do my homework.

“Then later?”

“Nope, I have to the lead my group of kids at church this evening in their Bible memory verses, and by the time I get home it will be bed time.

“Anna Joy, would you play with us?” One of younger siblings said coming into her room without knocking. Anna Joy rolled her eyes. Why did the kids always come to her? Why couldn’t they go to Mom or play with another sibling closer to their own age.

“Go away, can’t you see I'm busy,” Anna Joy said, not even looking up from the book she was reading.

“Anna Joy!” It was her mother calling.

“Yes, mother?”

“Please come and keep an eye on the little kids, I have to run an errand.” Anna Joy got out of her chair. Why was she always stuck with the little kids? Why did she have to always be taking care of them?

Maria Rose is feeling totally overwhelmed about being the oldest sometimes. Along with that birth order position comes a lot of responsibility. All the kids look up to you to see how they should act. If you do something wrong, that could cause them to something wrong. Oh dear, what if she made a mistake and all the kids followed her? She would feel so guilty.

So what do you think the point of today’s story is? We will talk about it more tomorrow.

This morning, before I even wrote this post, I went outside and did a chore that I really do enjoy; I milked the goats. I don’t know what it is about getting up early, and going out on my own to milk the goats, but I find it relaxing and soothing. Maybe it is because I have to totally concentrate on what I am doing, so I don’t think about what I need to do the rest of the day. Yes, I love milking the goats, and if you ever get a chance to try it, please do.

Life on our little five acre farm is very busy right now. We have a huge garden that is doing well and we are continuing to plant new things. Of course, we have the baby goats to take care of as well as their very hungry mamas. We have a lot of spring chores to do like clearing leaves, making sure weeds don’t take over the flower bed or garden as well as the normal feeding of the animals.

Speaking of all that work, I need to go. We have an organic farmer that we work for in exchange for produce, and we have to go start weeding potatoes. That is the one down side of fresh veggies, all the weeding.

Yes, I know I make a lot of spelling and grammar errors. Yes, I am working on it, and I have gotten better at catching them, believe it or not. Yes, I realized this morning that I had misspelled characters in the title of my last post! I make some mistakes but thankfully you guys keep coming and reading my blog. Thank you.

Now I would like to get to know all of you a little better. Please leave a comment and tell me a little bit about yourself and why you like my blog. Is there anything that you would like to see change?

Has there ever been a character in a book or movie that you felt acted like you? Was there ever a character that you felt their pains and their joys along with them? I have, with both a book and a movie character.

The book was called Head of the House, by Grace Livingston Hill (Note: Grace Livingston Hill was a strong believer but she wrote romance books, so some of you would not like her books). It is about five kids whose relatives want to separate them after the death of their parents, but the older, Jennifer, overhears their plan. The five kids run away and work together to keep each other safe.

I really identified with the character of Jennifer, being an oldest sister who loves her siblings more than just about anything in the world. I am not sure that my answer to the situation would be to run away, but I would work hard to keep me and my siblings together.

My character in the movie I identify with? Peter in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, the latest version. His obvious wanting to protect his siblings, as well as the subtle way he kicks himself after Edmond runs off as if it were his fault, all reminded me somewhat of myself. Especially that one moment when he is surrounded by enemies, and he shouts to Edmond to get the girls and get them home.

What character in a book or movie have you identified with the most?

What is going on today? That is a good question, and I am so glad you asked, because there are two things I want to tell y'all about (I love using the word y'all).

I posted the first devotional on Meditations of His Love! I encourage you to start making MHL part of your daily quiet time. With all the different girls who will be writing, there will be at least one that will touch your heart. For the next three weeks we will be talking about women of the Bible. I will be doing a three part series on Martha, the sister of Lazarus.

On the subject of my life, today my siblings and I are going to shop for our mom’s birthday gift. Her birthday is on May fourth, and we like to get our shopping done early. We have a pretty good idea what we want to get her, but since my mom is a faithful reader of this blog, we guys will have to wait until the fifth probably to find out what it is.

So, what is going on in your life today?

Thank you all for your great questions! Here are my answers

Jessica, You asked what some of the values/morals that I strive to show and put into my writing and why are they are so important to me. This is a great question and one that I will really enjoy answering. The reason I started writing was that I was disappointed in the books I was reading. Not that I was reading anything bad, but the older I got the fewer book I wanted to read because, other then fantasy, which I have never really liked, most other books were full of shallow romances and had a sad lack in godly characters. I wanted to write books that I wanted to read.

The most important thing that I wanted my writing to reflect was my faith in a living Savior who was everything to me. I wanted characters that were more worried about following God than getting the good-looking guy. I wanted characters that did what was right, no matter the cost, rather than see how close they could come to sin without actually sinning. And I wanted characters who had God as a part of their everyday lives and didn’t just call on him when they needed help.

Some of the other things that I wanted to show through my writing and characters is what guy-girl relationships should be like, not based on emotion but on a belief that both are going in the same direction in life and have the same values; Siblings can and should be best friends, marriages should be strong and lasting, and, in the end, doing what is right always is a better choice, even it is the hardest thing to do.

What makes a good book or story? A good plot with characters that the readers can identify with (I think I will talk about that more next week).

Earwen, the main way I come up with names for people is by keeping a good baby name book handy. These can be found at resale shops easily and they aren’t very expensive. As for places and things, I keep my ear wide open for cool names and sometimes make up my own.

Alli, No, I have not written any poems or songs but I have a sister who writes both and does a great job. Keep up writing yours, even if you never become a singer. Remember also that your mom and dad are doing what they think is best for you and even if you don’t think so now. One day you will probably thank them.

Arianna, the POV that I have used so far is third person, but I am planning to do some first person POV books in not too long. As for your other question, if I had ever written a story set in another country or time period, I have yet to write a book that is set in the present. My first three fiction book were set in the Middle Ages and the book I am working on right now is a Si-Fi.

Thanks for all your great questions. We will have to do this another time

I love magazines and e-zines, and I thought that I would tell you about my favorites.

My favorite magazine at the moment is His Wonders. It is a small home-based magazine for young ladies who want to be godly homemakers. I am a subscriber and I write for them to.

My favorite E-zine is free and very good. It is Ladies in Waiting and I hope that you will all go sign up for it. It comes out monthly and it is always encouraging.

Well, I need to get working on answering all those writing questions you guys sent me. See you tomorrow

I love to teach; I have ever since I can remember. I used to take the work sheets that my mom didn’t need and use them to teach my younger siblings, before I was even seven. Maybe that is why some of my siblings have trouble with math (giggle).

What brought this up? Well, I am in charge of my eleven-year-old sister’s school, and I am busy today planning out a study on the Middle Ages. I love doing the planning and helping her to learn in fun ways. The Middle Ages have been one of my favorite time periods to study - all those knights, fair maidens, and beautiful castles fascinate me. It is so fun to be able to pass on my love of the time to my younger siblings.

My favorite subject to teach is history but I love helping her with other things as well. For writing and grammar we write back and forth to each other in a note book, and that is a lot of fun. Mom does Bible and science with them. So that leaves me with math, spelling and any other areas of study we want to pursue. I must admit one thing though; I could live without the math part. I never have liked math, nor have I been particularly good. I am thankful for work books and a math major dad who always helps us when we get stumped.

Well, I guess that is a long enough post. Have a great day!

Spring is well underway here in the beautiful state of Texas. The trees and grass are green, the garden is starting to grow, and the past couple of days have been gorgeous. Thank you all for your prayers for rain. We have gotten about three inches at our house over the past month. That has really helped the trees and grass to be green.

One of the reasons that I am so thankful that spring is well underway is that it means that the pollen counts are slowly coming going down. Allergies are almost done! How is spring progressing at your house?

His Is Risen! Praise the LORD! I had a busy but good weekend and I’m totally exhausted. Thank you all for your great questions on writing Saturday! I will be doing my best to answer them all this coming Saturday. I am also getting ready for the launch of Meditations of His Love. I am so excited about this new blog, I hope that you will come over and see us.

This week for writing Saturday we are going to do something different. You can ask me a question the subject of writing, and next week I will do my best to answer them. You can ask any question you want to, no matter how big or small, and I will try to respond.

So, any questions?

This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover. "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn--both men and animals--and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. Exodus 12:11-13 NIV

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. Luke 22:15-20 NIV

Tomorrow is Passover and I am exited! My older sister, Nicole, will be coming with her husband and two kids, as well as two other families that we wanted to share it with. It is always a great time of fellowship, fun, and learning.

As I sit here thinking about all the Passovers that I can remember, it just makes me thankful that my Mom puts so much work into this every year. It takes a lot of work to make the special food and activities that we do and my mom has done it faithfully ever since I can remember.

All of our parents work hard to do special things for us, but how often do we thank them? As for me, I would like to say thank you Mom, for everything that you have done to make this holiday special. I can never tell you in words what a deep impact in my life you and Dad have made in teaching us about God in fun yet meaningful ways, like Passover. Thank you!

To all my readers; let’s take the time today to tell someone we love thank you today.

Announcing a new blog that I and some of my other blogging friends will write together. It is called Meditations of His Love, and it will be a daily devotional. We will be studying women of the bible to start with.
Click here to see the blog, just know that it is under constuction

“Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.” ~ 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 NIV

On the day before the Passover holiday begins in a Jewish home, they get rid of anything that has yeast in it. For the entire Passover holiday, they don’t eat anything that has yeast in it. This is a picture of how we are to clean the sin out of our lives.

In the Bible, yeast often represents sin and it is a good picture of it, too. If any of you have ever made bread, or seen it being made, you know that a little bit will make the entire loaf over double in size. In the same way a little sin can grow and become a huge problem. One lie leads to another. One wrong thought leads to a wrong action, and so on. This is a reminder that we all need.

So, as we get ready to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus, let’s clean out the sin in our lives.

This coming Friday is our Passover celebration! We are all busy cleaning the house and getting ready for the big celebration. So what exactly is Passover? If you will remember, right before the exodus of the Jews out of Egypt, they were told to take a lamb and kill it. They were to put the blood on their door posts so that the angel of death would pass over them, and they were to eat the lamb along with bitter herbs and unleavened bread (no yeast).

Today, all good Jews still celebrate Passover, but they fail to see the most important reason for the feast. My family celebrates this feast because there are so many pictures of Christ. Probably the most obvious is that Christ is our Passover lamb, who shed His blood so that we could live in heaven with him, and not die in our sins.

Maybe I will talk more about Passover tomorrow. He is risen!

I made some doll dresses to sell on my Etsy account. I thought that you guys might enjoy looking at the pictures of them. It you go here you will find the pictures of the spring flower dress I made. Click here to see my Easter white dress.

I love to make doll clothes, but I no longer have sisters who really play with dolls, so I am hoping that I can sell them. It was so fun to make these dresses and the cute accessories to go with them. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Do you have an Etsy store or a home-based business?

One of the things that we as Christian authors struggle with is how to show our faith and the faith of our characters in our stories and books. Some of us overdo it to the point that our characters are doing nothing but quoting verses and praying, and some of us barely put anything in because we don’t want to appear to be preaching.

Now don’t get me wrong, our characters should pray and quote verses, and we don't want to hide our faith for fear of sounding preachy, we just need to find the balance between the two. One of the things that helps me is to read my book aloud and really listen to the dialog. Make sure that when your characters pray, quote a verse, or talk about a spiritual subject that it fits into what is happening and flows in the dialog. You don’t want your characters to be in the middle of a life and death situation arguing whether or not they are held to the Old Testament law not to eat pork.

Do you have something that helps you to have a good balance? Do you have anything that you would like to add?

What is your favorite holiday of the year and why? Mine is Easter/Passover because we have so much great family time, and we are reminded that Jesus didn’t just die for us, He is risen!

Good morning! It is beautiful here today, the sun is shining, birds are singing and the trees are starting to get their leaves. Ah, it just is turning out to be a perfect day. I am still busy trying to catch up with all my work that I didn’t get done when I wasn’t feeling well. Things really pile up when you don’t do anything.

One of the reasons I have so much to do is our family is getting ready for our biggest celebration of the year: Passover. The Friday before Easter, we do a Christian version of the Passover feast. We have done this every year since I was very little and it is so much fun! God put so many pictures of things to come in the Passover feast that I learn something new every time.

Easter and Passover are our biggest celebrations of the year! I better get to work!