101 QUIPS AND QUOTES BOOK 2
Tuesday, November 30, 2021 by ADA ADELEKE-KELANI

PLEASE WELCOME

 ADA ADELEKE-KELANI

TO

ANYTHING GOES

 

ADA’S QUIPS EXCERPT

Quips from 101 Quips and Quotes that will strengthen and sweeten your marriage and family relationships

9. “Liking your spouse is very important because you need that when you do not feel like loving him/her.”

 

                          

 

101. We are advised not to put all our eggs in one basket. However, in marriage, you must put all your eggs in one basket. – Leke Kelan

 

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BARING THE SOUL

 

 

PLEASE WELCOME

MARTIN WILES

TO

ANYTHING GOES

Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord.

1 Samuel 1:10 NLT

When the time came, she immediately spoke up and shared.

My wife enjoys the small group atmosphere. A little lecture time on the Bible subject at hand, followed by a lot of discussion time, suits her just fine. When leading a small group, having someone like my wife in the group helps to get the discussion flowing. As she shares, others open up and talk also. After all, that’s the point of a small group: talking, not lecturing.

But there are some things my wife won’t share. The real personal things. I’m more apt to share them—and then hear from her later that I shouldn’t have. She grew up in a home where her parents shared nothing personal. As many were from their generation, they were private.

Mom also possesses the gift of gab. One person once told my dad they knew why he went into the ministry: so he could have an opportunity to talk. Spending a little time with Mom bears out the truth of his observation. She shares … and shares again … and shares some more. So much so that getting a word in, takes effort.

Unlike my wife, Mom will share the personal stuff. Spend a little time with her, and anyone will know everything there is to know about me and my two brothers, along with our wives, children, and grandchildren.

Hannah bared her soul. No matter how hard she and her husband tried, she couldn’t conceive. With tears of anguish, she took the matter to God, and He answered her prayer. As she promised, after the child was weaned, she returned him to God to work in God’s house.

Sharing isn’t easy for some because doing so involves vulnerability. And becoming vulnerable takes down the façade we enjoy erecting … the front that makes it appear we have life altogether and that we’re perfect in every way—even though we know that’s a lie.

But baring the soul carries important benefits. For one, it keeps us humble. As we share our struggles and pitfalls, we send pride—a trait God despises—out the window. And when we open up, it encourages others to open up and share as well. When this happens, we build trusting relationships with others—some that last a lifetime. We also learn from each other. Through small group interaction, I’ve discovered many biblical truths and life lessons I had never thought about before.

Why not find a small group and bare your soul?

ABOUT MARTIN WILES

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WHERE'S THE CHRISTIAN TEEN FICTION
Friday, November 19, 2021 by CANDICE

PLEASE WELCOME

CANDICE PEDRAZA YAMNITZ

TO

FICTION FRIDAY

 

THE WRITER’S STORY

Clean teen fiction is important. As teens and young adults, we decided who we wanted to be and tested where we fit in the world. Our Christian messages need to be in fiction and present for young people to wrestle with as they are making decisions about life.

I started my writing journey because book after book recommended to me fell short in the clean teen department. Sure, the books were enthralling. I expected adult issues to arise, but I didn’t see God reflected in the novels I read.

I decided to write my own teen books. Surely, God would be with me if I wrote for him. I wasn’t wrong about God being with me, but I did not know what I was getting myself into. Lots of work. Lots of moments of despair. Would I go back and do something different? No. God did show up, and He continues to show up.

Now, I get to be in the know when a new clean teen book comes out into the world, and I blast it everywhere. In February, I also get to share UNBETROTHED, my fiction drop-in-the-bucket, with the world.

UNBETROTHED was my second novel project, but the first one I finished. It all started when I wrestled with my self-worth, and I saw this same wrestling in the teen girls I mentored. What makes a person good enough? What defines us as people?

Now add a deadly oath, a forbidden valley, and quest for magic to the mix, and place it in a Caribbean-esk kingdom. BOOM! You get UNBETROTHED.

 

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Mad Libs Fun

 

 

PLEASE WELCOME

HEIDI GRAY MCGILL

TO

A SPECIAL ANYTHING GOES

REPLAY BY REQUEST

We all know reviews do more than encourage authors.

 Yet writing a review can be daunting.  Many people prefer not to leave one because they may not feel they write well enough or know what to say.

If you fall into that category…here’s a fun way to make it easy to write a review. 

Remember Mad Lib? 

Directions: Choose the word(s) that best fits in the blank:

I __verb___ this book! (loved, enjoyed, adored, treasured, devoured)

The characters were ___adjective__. (entertaining, delightful, wonderful, amusing, charming, real)

_____Name_____ was my favorite character because _____________________________.

The story was ___adjective__. (Engaging, captivating, sweet, uplifting, inspiring)

I will ____adverb_____ (gladly, heartily, definitely) recommend this book to my friends.

I really hope the author writes more books in this series, because ________________. (I want to know more about a certain character, these characters feel like family, I have to know what happens to ___name___)

I look forward to reading more books by this author because ____________________________. (I enjoy her writing style; I love the way she reveals the spiritual side of her characters; 

 

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MOVING ADVENTURES
Tuesday, November 2, 2021 by John Barringer

Helping our adult children with their life needs can prove to be an adventure. 

Here is our son John’s recount of his moving day when he moved from a rented space in one home to a rented space in a three-story home. Unfortunately, the couch had to go up one flight and his little refrigerator went up three flights. 

Moving worked out well.  I spent 14 hours Saturday packing, moving, cleaning, and returning the truck.  Sat down to dinner and a cold drink at 10 pm.

Sunday morning: woke up.  searched every single box for toothpaste.  Couldn't find it.  When cleaning out the old place later I found an entire box of bathroom supplies packed up and left behind in Andrew's room.  Also found all of my coats hanging in the closet, and a few other odds and ends.

Because of the diet, I've lost 35 pounds.  My shorts won't stay up without a belt.  Looked through every box twice searching for the belts.  Couldn't find them.  Walked around all day holding my shorts up with one hand.  Because as soon as I let go the neighbors got an eyeful.  Just before bed, I found them somewhere.  Don't remember where, but I did a happy dance.
Eating Mama Lucia's pizza for lunch.  It was so good, I was moaning!  Went back on the diet for dinner.

I thought a 20' truck was more than big enough.  It ended up being packed to the gills.  When I checked mid-morning my two teenage helpers were getting towards the back with mostly waist-high stacking.  Grandpa was promptly sent to the truck to supervise.

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ARMS OF FREEDOM

 

PLEASE WELCOME

KATHLEEN NEELY

TO

FICTION FRIDAY

STORY BEHIND THE STORY

 

Arms of Freedom was birthed during a time of racial tension in our nation; a time when social injustice and protests were forefront in the news. Many publishers safely avoided manuscripts with any mention of racial issues—perhaps a decision from a business perspective.

However, failure to look at our past denies us the opportunity to learn from history.

Our fear of offending can push major historical offenses into a dark closet. I chose to illuminate those offenses by launching this book. Following the Civil War, the period of twelve years known as Reconstruction was perhaps the most brutal period of racial terrorism. The contents may be hard to read. I confess that I often wrote through tears.

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CHOOSING JOY

 

PLEASE WELCOME

CYNTHIA BAUGHAN WHEATON

TO

ANYTHING GOES

 

Are you someone who tends to be joyful about things after they are over and everything turned out okay? I am. Jesus said we should not worry -- but we do.  

When my daughter was in high school, Marilyn practically lived at a nearby horse barn. She found great peace, not only in riding but also in grooming the horses – even happily mucking out the stalls. Although we did not fully understand her interest, my husband and I applauded her hobby, especially since she was more than willing to have a part-time job helping with the horses.  

Over a period of years, she began participating in local, then regional, horse shows. At one of the bigger events, she said, “Mom! They are finally going to have an adult lead-line class – tonight! Will you participate?” 

Let me explain. In lead-line classes, an experienced horse person uses a rope to lead a horse around the ring, ridden by a novice or non-horse-person. Usually, these classes are limited to young children. In this case, adults could ride.

Unfortunately, I have been scared of horses since I was six years old when one ran away with me.  You may understand my two reactions. Internal: “Yikes!” External: “Sure, Honey, I told you I would.”

All day I worried about wearing her flowing outfit and getting on and off that big horse. The evening began with her long-awaited competition in a costume class, where her riding skills were judged. I watched Marilyn gallop around the ring at maximum speed, in the same “Lawrence of Arabia” costume I would put on. Too soon, she eased down from the horse after collecting her ribbon. Immediately, she helped me dress. I used a step stool to point one foot into the stirrup, throwing my other leg over the saddle and easing into the seat. Well, that went okay, but I was concerned that the horse would want to gallop more -- with me. The saddle was English, and unlike a Western saddle, there was nothing to hold onto except the reins.

My first words were, “Marilyn, how am I going to get off this horse?” Nursing a broken toe, I was really concerned.

“Mom, just live in the moment. Enjoy yourself and stop worrying about what comes next.”

 Even as a teenager, she knew me well. I took her advice and rode for about 20 minutes as she managed the lead rope. He obeyed her while I enjoyed a carefree ride. Then, despite my earlier fears, I easily dismounted.

All that worry – what a waste. I have spent too much time worrying about the past or the future, and not participating in the present. Life’s ride is more joyful when we trust the One leading us.  

ABOUT ARE YOU READY TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Are You Ready to Start Your Own Business?

A Sanity Check for Those Who Dream of Self-Employment

If you dream of self-employment, discover your answers to three important questions:
1. Are you personally ready to start your own business?
2. Can you make a profit from your investment of time and money?
3. Should you proceed?

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LIFE'S UNCERTAINTY

 

PLEASE WELCOME

MARTIN WILES 

TO

ANYTHING GOES

 

You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! Job 1:10 NLT

She was a vibrant individual…until she wasn’t.

Gina was a good friend. My wife and I loved her. When we moved away, Gina called once a week, and she and my wife would catch up on the news. But then one day, we received a message on Messenger from Gina’s daughter: “Mom has had a stroke and is in ICU.”

Gina had been riding in the truck with her husband. They stopped for gas. He went inside to pay. When he returned to the truck, Gina couldn’t talk. He knew something was wrong, so he rushed her to the local emergency room. There, doctors examined and tested her, but things went downhill rapidly. Within a few hours, she was in ICU, and within another few hours, the neurosurgeon was operating on the blood clot in her head—a necessary step to save her life.

Over the next few days, Gina made slow progress. They removed her from life support, but her right side was paralyzed, and her speech haltered. Gina didn’t know her future held a stroke. She merely enjoyed the day with her husband—and probably had other plans too. Thankfully, Gina eventually recuperated and now lives a fairly normal life—but her road to recovery was long.

Job didn’t see what was coming either. He didn’t know about the conversation between God and Satan taking place in heaven. The one where Satan accused God of overly protecting Job—the reason Satan said Job was such a righteous person. Job didn’t know about God giving Satan permission to mess up his life. But Job did know when life came tumbling down.

Life is that way: uncertain.

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WORD PLAY MYSTERIES

 

PLEASE WELCOME

JULIE COSGROVE

TO

FICTION FRIDAY

 

The Word Play Mysteries

Wanda Warner loves two things … her town of Scrub Oak, Texas, and word games.  Her nephew Todd Martin, who has returned to become the town’s newest police officer makes it three.  Wanda understands small-town folk have long memories. The last they knew of Todd, he’d left after high school as a troubled, lanky, quiet teen victimized by his parent’s scandalous divorce and subsequent exit. Wanda took him under her wing during those turbulent years, and they shared many an evening at her kitchen table playing Scrabble and solving the word puzzles from the Dallas Morning News.

Little did she realize her word-solving skills would help thwart crime from seeping into her town. Determined to make Todd shine, she forms a neighborhood watch and stealthily involves her two best friends, Evelyn and Betsy Ann, in sniffing out criminals using the best tool she knows ... words.

There are two Wordplay Mysteries published with a third anticipated in February 2022 and a fourth in late summer or early fall of 2022.

Word Has It  –  Not prone to gossip, Wanda keeps to herself. But when she hears from her nephew that a ring of thieves may be hiding out in the area, she begins to wonder if the old Ferguson place is still abandoned. When words like jewels, woodshed, landing, and evil appear on their weekly word game then a deadly shooting occurs, she determines these are signs she and her friends should investigate.

Word Gets Around – Each of the three ladies receives a nonsensical note slipped between the wiper blades of their cars. When the ladies combine the words on a word game board, they spell trouble for one of Betty’s former students, who is now a freelance reporter for the Oakmont County Gazette. Could it be she reported way too much?

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BLOOMING IN BROKEN PLACES
Tuesday, October 12, 2021 by DEBORAH MALONE

 

PLEASE WELCOME

DEBORAH MALONE

TO

ANYTHING GOES

EXCERPT FROM

BLOOMING IN BROKEN PLACES

CHAPTER 5

TRUSTING GOD!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

When my two girls reached four, they took swimming lessons from Richard a friend of ours. He had been teaching for years and many of the children in our town had taken lessons from him. It was amazing how he would slowly earn the trust of the children to the point they would jump off the side of the pool and swim to him. It was even more amazing when they reached the point in their lessons where they jumped off the diving board.

“Mommy, watch this!” These words can put fear in the heart of even the strongest of mothers, and I was no exception, and my heart skipped a beat as Erin took her turn on the diving board. But it was a beautiful thing to see the kind of trust Richard had built with these little ones.

Do you know how to swim?

Abba wants us to have that kind of trust in him - trust enough to dive off the side with total confidence that he will catch us. I think the following passage from Jeremiah says it all. Abba not only wants us to trust him in the good times but in the not-so-good times as well.

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