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These are my favorite posts from this year:
Amber turned back, furry in her eyes. Her green eyes almost looked golden. “My problem is you! All of you! You are just trying to make me fat like the rest of you so I will fit in, and it isn’t fair.” She stomped off to her room, leaving an even more profound silence in her wake then when she her arrived at the table.
Jared watched his mother rise from the table and rush to her bedroom, a sob escaping within his hearing.
“Mary,” his father followed after her and raced to comfort his wife.
Jared stared down at his plate feeling sick. He thought back to what things were like only the year before. He remember very well the week after Thanksgiving last year, it had been so filled with laughter and fun. The Fillmore Four, as their family called themselves, had spent hours planning their Christmas display and Amber had made up a batch of cookies almost every day.
What had happened to her in the past year? She had slowly started to pull away from all of them, becoming obsessed with being thin and healthy and that stupid beauty pageant their town put on. Amber had always been a bit larger, but she was quickly slimming down, at an alarming rate.
Jared left is plate on the table and grabbed his jacket from a peg in the hallway. Things couldn’t stay this way. He had to find some way to change them.
“Jared! Good to see you!” Pastor greeted enthusiastically, giving him a hug. “What brings you here?”
“Mrs. Philips said you had another appointment soon, but I needed to talk.”
“I always have time. Tell me, what is on your heart today?” The pastor sat down and indicated Jared should do the same. Pastor Johnson was approaching fifty-five, but still was full of energy and joy.
He had been the preacher at Community Fellowship since before Jared was born.
“It is about my sister,” Jared said, suddenly feeling awkward. He didn’t like talking about problems with anyone, but he was desperate.
“Amber?” The pastor cocked his head.
Jared nodded. “Yes sir. She… My parents… This is…”
Pastor Johnson folded his hands and set them on his desk. “Is this about her eating disorder?”
Jared flinched. “It isn’t a disorder really.”
Pastor Johnson smiled sadly. “Son, when you don’t view things in a proper way, your perception is in disorder. Now, what is it you want to know?”
“I want to help her,” Jared blurted. “She is scaring my parents and me and she won’t listen to anyone.”
“I know,” Pastor Johnson’s compassion and pain were evident in his voice. “It is a hard thing to watch someone hurt themselves. Depriving oneself of needed food is just one of the many ways people inflict self-harm.”
“So how do I get her to stop?” Jared said, desperate for an answer.
The pastor shook his head. “You can’t make her stop, Jared.”
He felt as If he had been punched. “What?”
“You cannot make her stop. She has to choose that for herself.”
The silence at the breakfast table should be something that he was used to by now, but Jared hated it as much as when its unwelcomed presence had first descended on their family meal time. His mother and father exchanged worried glances, and Amber ignored all of them as she nibbled at the blueberries that sat inside her small bowl.
“Amber,” her mother said again, “you have to eat.”
Amber plopped one of the blueberries in her mouth and stared past Jared as if she hadn’t heard.
Jared knew his fifteen-year-old sister had heard them; he could detect the very small change in her eyes, the thoughts and feelings raging through her almost palpable to him. She was trying to block them all out, thinking that she was being strong, but she was really just being stupid.
“Amber, look at your mother when she is talking to you,” their father said sternly.
Amber swallowed, her gaze dropping to her bowl before she shoved it away. “I am so tired of y’all always picking on me. Just because Mom is fat, doesn’t mean I have to follow in that direction. And I do eat! I am just on a special diet for the Snow Queen Pageant.”
Jared winced and wished back the awkward silence. It was bad, but it was better than the angry words being hurled like daggers. He felt that he, at sixteen, should be able to do something to stop it.
“Amber –” Her mother started.
Amber stood. “If you keep on bugging me I won’t come and eat breakfast here anymore. Most parents are supportive of their kids when they eat healthy and want to win a beauty pageant. You just want me to be fat, so that you will feel better about letting yourself go.”
“That not only unfair, it is a lie,” her father said, pushing his plate with waffles and bacon away from him. “We support you wanting to eat healthy and we have bought you all the special foods you wanted. You know this isn’t about what you are eating, it is about how little you are eating.”
“I eat enough,” Amber said defensively.
“Amber,” her mother tried again, “you are not eating enough to be healthy. You are losing too much weight too fast. It isn’t healthy. I will support you in losing weight, but in a healthy way. And you know why we have a problem with the pageant.”
Amber crossed her arms and looked away.
Jared stared down at his plate. His days were on repeat. This had been the scene at breakfast every morning this week, as his parents had decided to confront Amber on Monday. She had denied that it then, refused to go to counselling on Tuesday, and laughed at the idea of speaking to the pastor on Wednesday. Today she again was rebuffing any attempts to help her.
My First Christmas story is here!
Here is a bit of the background of the story.
The title for this story comes from a concept in the original Hans Christian Anderson fairytale, the Snow Queen (which you can read here for free). At the beginning of the fairy tale, it talks about this glass that the demons made that distorted everything, and that when a piece of it gets caught in someone’s eye, it distorts their view of the world.
Buy
it Here
Description: Determined to follow the will of Elohim, Makilien faces
daily threats and hardship. But an even bigger threat is growing. Bent on
destroying his opposition once and for all, Zirtan amasses a devastating force
to take control of Dolennar. When a dangerous secret comes to light, Makilien,
along with her family and Aedan, are thrust into the middle of the struggle.
Faced with an army far outnumbering their own, Makilien and her friends risk
everything--injury, captivity, even death--to gather their allies. But in the
end, their hope and courage must rest in Elohim. Can the forces of good achieve
victory, or will the might of evil prevail? Who will be left to see the end?
Why in the world did it take me so long
to get back to this series? No matter, I assure you I will not let over a year
go by before I read the final book in the trilogy.
This book picks up where Truth left
off: Makilien telling her hometown the good news. However, she is suffering for
her beliefs and they cost her. Soon she and her family our on the run along
with other friends.
Makilien is a strong female character
that I just love. She is good with weapons, she can battle many foes, yet still
somehow maintains some femininity. Her bravery and her courage are something I
greatly admire.
All the other characters are well
crafted in this story. Makilien’s own family was very dear how they interacted.
Srion was my favorite after Makilien. He was strong in his faith and character
… as well as kind.
The fantasy world of Dolennar was well
built. It felt very real. I felt as if I could easily see what the author had
envisioned. Each place the characters go brings the story more to life. I can
see this being made into a movie.
The message of redemption and strength
coming from God were a large part of the story without ever feeling forced. I
especially like some of the unlikely people that are redeemed through the
story. It was a reminder that no one is too far from the Grace of God.
I highly recommend this book for those
who love fantasy, stories of faith, a strong female characters.
It is that time of year again! The time when I look back pick what I felt were the top ten books I read during the year. Here are this years selections. Click on the image to find it on Amazon and click on the title to see my review on Goodreads.
She was one of those people that will always carry a very special place in my heart. She was the one who taught me the ropes of working at the Texas Capitol. I just found out that she died yesterday while on vacation with her husband. Betty will be missed by me and many others.
I wish I could tell her one last thing. I told her so many time that I appreciated her and that she meant a lot to me, but I will never be able to tell Betty that my next book in the Kate's Case Files was going to be dedicated to her.
In her memory, I would like to share it here today.
I wish I could tell her one last thing. I told her so many time that I appreciated her and that she meant a lot to me, but I will never be able to tell Betty that my next book in the Kate's Case Files was going to be dedicated to her.
In her memory, I would like to share it here today.
To Betty Horton:
You showed me the ropes of working at the Texas Capitol
You made me feel like there was no such thing as a stupid question
You instilled in me a love for learning about the different sides of an issue,
You taught me so many things about interacting with people that still serves me well
Thank you for being a positive influence in my life
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