May 18, 2012

Why do We Age? By Ada Brownell

It’s my happy privilege to host the talented Ada Brownell today. Enjoy her humorous look at aging and the very serious way we got into this mess in the first place! And don’t forget to nab a copy of her book Swallowed by Life! Free today at Amazon!

***

My skin is shriveling up like wadded paper while I’m still in it. Wrinkles have made a map out of my face.

“You know, Mom, if you wore long dangly earrings I could use your wrinkles like venetian blinds,” my youngest son once told me—and that was years ago.

Now my arms joined the show, the covering looking like a balloon that’s been blown up and released one time too many. My hide is so loose I could shake it like a dog’s instead of using a towel. If this keeps up, two people will fit in my skin.

Why do our bodies age?

Some of us might make jokes about wrinkles, white hair, deafness and “senior moments,” but as my step-mother used to say, aging isn’t for sissies.

David wrote, “Lord make me to know my end and what is the measure of my days that I may know how frail I am. Indeed, you have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before you” (Psalm 39:4-5).

When I wrote the book, Swallowed by LIFE, Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal, I told how our cells are constantly dying and being replaced, rebuilding our bodies, including the skeleton, every seven years. Now I ask, “Why aren’t we like new every seven years?”

In my research about aging, one section was titled, “Aging: A Vital Process.” Not encouraging.

“No matter what genes you have inherited, your body is continually undergoing complex biochemical reactions and ultimately, aging in the body,” explained Mark Stibich, Ph.D., author of Why We Age—Theories and Effects of Aging.

Here are theories about why we grow old, and a few of my comments:

• The human body is programmed to age. (Duh!)
• Certain genes switch off and on over time (Turn them back on, Doc!)
• Aging is caused by hormonal changes
• Immune systems are programmed to lessen their battle against attack
• Environmental damage (Where’s the EPA?)
• Wear and tear of tissues and cells
• A faster pace of living shortens life (What happened to wear out or rust out?)
• Cross-linked proteins slow down body processes
• Free radicals damage and impair cells
• Cells malfunction because of genetic mutations

Most of the above are theories, but seriously, we know our flesh gets sick, wears out and dies because of sin. That’s the harmful gene we inherit, and the only way to conquer it is to accept life eternal through God’s sacrifice for sin, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (See John 3:16).

HOW TO STAY YOUNGER AND LIVE LONGER (This is more than a theory)

• Inherit longevity genes
• Eat foods loaded with antioxidants such as green tea and blueberries
• Exercise to limit muscle and bone loss
• Keep cholesterol low
• Use your brain cells to keep them fit
• Practice positive thinking

© Ada Brownell 2012
Ada’s blog: http://www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com
Ada Brownell is author of the book, Swallowed by LIFE. Paperbacks are available at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. Kindle version from Amazon.com

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May 17, 2012

Guest Blogging for Gina Conroy!

The talented and delightful Gina Conroy has allowed me to blog her midweek motivation today!

Check out what I learned from the story of Jonah’s Vine last winter while Foreclosed was selling one copy every 12 seconds!

http://writerinterrupted.com/2012/05/16/jonah-vine/

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May 4, 2012

What’s in a Name?

I think the WIP is about two months away from complete. Maybe less, but I don’t want to get too excited now just to be disappointed, you know?

That said, I have a very important decision to make!

What should I call myself on the cover?

The Mitzy Neuhaus Mysteries are light comedy, cozy mysteries, and most importantly, as far as audience is concerned, Christian fiction. The WIP is a general market sci-fi adventure story. It’s got space pirates and prostitutes.

Should I use a pen name?

Despite the prostitutes the book is still very clean and family friends. I think my brain would short circuit if I tried to write something steamy. So as “Traci Tyne Hilton” I am proud of this book and happy to endorse it.

As a reader of Christian fiction, if you went to read another book by an author you liked and found it wasn’t an inspy book would that bother you?

If you were about to put out a book in a genre quite different from what you had been writing, would you use a pen name?

Let me know what you think, all opinions count!

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May 4, 2012

Another Abandoned Story

I was digging around in my documents folder when I came across this one. According to the properties file on it, I created this document on March 30th, 2010, or, about two years ago. I named the file CPR Megan. I remember CPR stood for Crisis Pregnancy Resources, obviously based on my experiences at the Pregnancy Resource Center.

I remember that Megan was going to go to the CPR with a friend because the friend needed a test and then, because the counselor was so nice and wise (obviously not based on me!) she was going to ask the counselor to help find her missing mom. I don’t remember anything about where the mom went, or why.

…maybe you can suggest something!

**

Megan lugged her back pack up the steps to her front door. All of the blinds were shut so she couldn’t see inside. She turned to wave at her step-mom, but the Prius was already gone.

The evening air was chilly. Megan rubbed her hands together and then dug into the pockets of her bag to find her keys. She usually put them in an interior pocket, unless she forgot.

The keys weren’t there. Megan rang the bell just in case. She looked at her watch. It was only 6. She expected her mom home in time for dinner, maybe a late dinner.

Megan sat on the front step. She rubbed her hands over her cold shins and looked down the street. Porch lights were coming on but those were the only signs of life.

She always felt creepy coming home from her dad’s, like the neighbors were watching. She gripped the handle of her back pack and climbed back down the steps. Maybe the garage door was open. She leaned against the door and pulled on it—trying to look inconspicuous. She didn’t want any of the neighbors to realize she was locked out.

The door didn’t open. She walked around the side of her duplex, trying to look like it was all no big deal. The patio didn’t have a gate so she tossed her back pack over the short fence and followed it with a clumsy vault.

The sliding door wasn’t unlocked either. She pushed a chair up to the wall and climbed it. She wrangled with the old aluminum window screen and popped it out. If the window was even just a bit ajar she could slide it open and climb in.

The window slid quietly open. She sighed deeply and squeezed through. She didn’t fit through the kitchen window quite as easily as when she was younger. And she wasn’t as nimble either. She knocked something off of the counter that shattered on the tile floor.

Megan tripped across the floor, trying not to crush the broken glass on her way to the broom. After she swept up her mess she went back out through the slider door and retrieved her back pack. When she and her stuff were back inside the house she pulled the door closed, locked it and dragged the drapes across their rod.

The house was cold like it had been empty all weekend. Mom hadn’t done more than sleep here for the last three days, Megan thought. It was always like that when she had a gallery show. Megan stretched out on the sofa and turned on the TV, waiting for her mom. She tried to stay awake, but it was hopeless.

Megan woke up shivering. She reached for her blanket and realized she was still on the sofa. The house was still dark, quiet and cold.
Her watch said it was 3 in the morning. She shivered again, but not from the cold. Where was her mom? She curled around herself on the couch, scared to move to her room upstairs.

She pulled her arms into her shirt and hugged her stomach. She was seventeen years old and had spent more than one night on her own. But that was different. She expected to be alone then.

Tonight her mom was supposed to be with her and she wasn’t. She squeezed her eyes shut like a little girl and prayed she would sleep until morning and then find her mom home after all.

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April 25, 2012

The KDP Files

Here’s a fun one, that holds true after low these many months. The title of this thread was “DOH! I’m not doing that again!’ : Your personal Top Five DON’T do’s…??

—

I’m game:

1. Don’t let non-writer friends read it before it is done. Only other writers know how to read and comment on a WIP.

2. Don’t rely on self-editing!!! I still burn red with shame when I think of the condition my book was in when I first hit publish.

3. Don’t send it to a traditional publisher! Why waste time waiting that could be spent selling on Kindle? (Do what you need to do. This is what I need to do!)

4. Don’t stop doing the laundry to make more writing time. Eventually you will get writers block which I find easier to handle if I am not naked.

5. Don’t go it alone. Us crazies need to stick together.

Traci

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April 22, 2012

Thanksgiving

I’m feeling very grateful for the opportunity to publish that Amazon has given me. Hoping to get some writing time in today so that that opportunity won’t go to waste.

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April 21, 2012

Interview!

I’m over at the Jennifer Diaries today talking with Jennifer herself! (Oh, and Eminent Domain is free for one more day! http://amzn.to/Mitzy2)

http://www.jenniferlynnalvarez.com/2012/04/day-104-interview-with-traci-hilton.html

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April 20, 2012

Resurrecting Your Dream Passions

I’m honored to have the very talented and encouraging author Gina Conroy blogging for me today!

Check out her novella Buried Deceptions in the Cherry Blossom Capers Collection!

by Gina Conroy

Our dreams can be like a familiar childhood friend.
They’re often something we’ve grown up with and treasured in our hearts since we were little, but for one reason or another we’ve drifted away from.

We all go through seasons where our dreams need to be grounded so we can focus on other things in our lives, but there is a time to resurrect our dreams.

I struggled for years with figuring out when the time was right for me to pursue writing full time. After ten years of focusing on family, I thought it was time to resurrect my dreams. Looking back, it might have been easier to let my dreams sleep a little longer, or maybe I could have I slowly worked toward my goals those ten years. I’ll never know, but here are some thing I’ve learned along the way.

Identifying Your Dream Passion
Sometimes it’s been so long since we let ourselves dream, that we’ve forgotten what our passions are. Think back to when you were little. What were the things that brought you joy? Did those same activities extend to your high school and college years? Did you lose your passion in the busyness of family rearing and life? Still stumped at identifying your passion? How about the things you did that you felt God’s smile of approval or presence in? Ask God to stir up a passion inside of you for His glory. Then expect him to! Here’s a peek at one of my childhood dreams…fulfilled!

Pray Before You Leap
It seems so simple, but why don’t we do it? For me, it’s because I’m driven and I see others with the “prize” and I think “I can do that.” But I’ve learned that no matter how hard I try or how talented I think I am, God’s the one in control, not me. I can strive all I want (and I believe in working toward my goals,) but ultimately God knows when I’m ready to take that leap toward my dreams. I’ve learned the hard way not to rush it. Don’t make the same mistake.

Banish the Naysayers
Sometimes our biggest dream killers are our inner voices that tell us our dreams are too impractical or unrealistic. That’s why they’re called dreams! While some seasons of dreaming might have to be practical like having a steady job or bigger home, I believe inside everyone is a dream that connects with our soul that if left to sleep too long with eventually die, killing your spirit as well! Allow yourself to wake the dream!

If you feel that now is your time to resurrect your dream, you might be terrified. But how scary is it to live without the pursuit of our passions? To live with the doubt of never knowing if you might have succeeded because your never even tried or gave up too soon.

I don’t want to live with those regrets.

Do you?

**

Gina Conroy used to think she knew where her life was headed; now she’s leaning on the Lord to show her the way. She is the founder of Writer…Interrupted where she mentors busy writers and tries to keep things in perspective, knowing God’s timing is perfect, even if she doesn’t agree with it! ;) She is represented by Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary, and her first novella, Buried Deception, in the Cherry Blossom Capers Collection, releases from Barbour Publishing in January 2012. On her blog Defying Gravity and twitter she chronicles her triumphs and trials as she pursues her dreams while encouraging her family and others to chase after their own passions. Gina loves to connect with readers, and when she isn’t writing, teaching, or driving kids around, you can find her on Facebook and Twitter.

[Speaking of Regrets, have you read Eminent Domain yet? Mitzy would hate for you to miss a bargain! It's free today through Sunday! Don't miss out.]

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April 16, 2012

Sunday School and Awards

(My second grader)

I was starting to get irritated with the number of small toys my second grader was bringing home from Sunday School. (I have an aversion to small toys.)

She has been earning the toys as prizes for memorizing long passages of scripture. She has a rockin’ short term memory for narrative….so if she is at the end of the line and has listened to all of the other kids, she can repeat the 10 or so verses without having worked on the passage at all during the week. (She also has a processing disorder so she cannot remember things like numbers in series, or directions more than four steps long, but that’s another story.)

The pile of stuffed animals and yo-yo’s she has collected was capped this weekend with a Bratz doll this weekend.

A Bratz doll!

The teachers of her class are older…there was no such thing as Bratz dolls when their girls were little. Also, the prizes come from donations and places like Goodwill, I think. There was no packaging with it to indicate that this particular doll wasn’t quite Sunday School approved. I give them the benefit of the doubt; the Bratz infraction appears to be an innocent mistake.

But it sent my mind reeling: Such commercialism in Sunday School! What a horror!

And just as suddenly as I was horrified I remembered being a first grader and a Care Bear Figurine in its powder blue box, on the table of awards in my Sunday School class. I happen to be Facebook friends with my former first grade Sunday School teacher (Hi Patsy!) and I bet she has no memory of the Care Bear figurine (in the powder blue box.)

She doesn’t remember it, I bet, because it wasn’t her currency. (That’s a phrase I stole from Dr. Phil.) We are supposed to use our children’s currency to motivate them. Second grade girls, like my daughter, value toys and are motivated by them.

I was horrified thinking the Bratz doll and stuffed animals were making the scriptures cheap, somehow. But in reality, the teachers were teaching the kids the value of the scripture.

You know what I mean? If a chocolate bar is $5 we know that is some GOOD chocolate. If we find a chunk of something that looks like chocolate, wrapped in silvered paper, with no label of any kind, we might have chocolate, we might have almond bark, we might have unsweetened baker’s chocolate. We’d have to taste it to see. I know I would hesitate.

If we give the kids a nice long chunk of “The Lord is my shepherd” and tell them “memorize this, it’s good for you.” Will they believe us? Will they get that there is intrinsic value in the verse?

It’s not likely they can do that kind of abstract grappling when they are still so young. So we say, “Memorize this. It’s value to you is equivalent to how you feel about that toy.” And lets just admit it here, kids LOVE toys.

They remember them.

The philosophy of AWANA is pretty much the same: Memorize God’s word and we will shower you with badges, awards, and praise. The kids then know the scripture by heart, which is the goal, and they associate knowing God’s word with the feeling they get when they are praised in front of their peers.

So, did the Bratz doll cheapen the Scripture for my kid?

Nope. It just gave that passage of scripture a value greater than all of my words of praise for God could have done, because it used her currency.

I am the kind of Sunday School teacher who wants to spend my time in story telling and hands on activities that help the kids remember the story and the message. I don’t want to take the time away from those activities to listen to verses. It’s a personality thing, not a matter of the right or wrong way to teach a class. But if I WERE to do verses with my kids I would definitely do prizes, now that I’ve had a nice long think about it.

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April 11, 2012

What do you Want on your Nursing Home iPod?

My husband Daniel is a funeral director, so we already know things like what music he wants at his funeral.

But a new video going around Facebook gave me pause. An elderly man who was either senile or severely depressed was brought back to his own self when they let him listen to an iPod of his favorite music. It was nothing less than miraculous. (If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth the six minutes.)

I asked Daniel was he wanted on his nursing home iPod, and since he spends several evenings a week finding new music to put on his MP3 player he suggested I try not to lose the one he already has.

But what about me? (And you?) When you come to the end of your days what do you want to be the thing that lifts the dark cloak of depression and senility?

My first thought was Cat Stevens…I’ve loved him since my outdoor school days. And truly, I am sure my eyes would light up anytime I heard Hard Headed Woman or Morning has Broken.

But I hope that my spirit lifts for music that honors God as well. I want Matt Maher, and Jimmy Needham. Jamie Grace and Ginny Owens.

I can’t predict what will lift my spirits fifty years from now. But I can tie myself more tightly to the word of God. I can memorize more scripture and spend more time singing along to the Fish. I can fill up my memories now with words and music that honor God and then, when I need to be reminded of my name (as Andrew Peterson says) things that honor God will be what reminds me.

My Nursing Home Play List

Forgiven and Loved
Hold us Together
Morning has Broken
Your Hands
Show me your Glory
You are Beautiful my Sweet Sweet Song
You Are
Color Green
This is the Stuff this is my life’s theme song
If you want me to
This is just the start of my list…

What’s on your Nursing Home iPod?

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