On the Fence

The warm summer sun kissed her face. A sweet breeze filled with the scent of wildflowers and grass tickled her nose. Jana tilted her head to the sky, and smiled.

Now this was life.

She was content. She was happy. Nothing could bring her down. Jana got lost in the sunshine. Her eyes were closed, and she peacefully hummed the melody of her heart.

When Jana opened her eyes, she was surprised to find that the beautiful summer day she had been enjoying had disappeared. Now, dark clouds filled the sky and the cool air spoke of things to come.

"Come here."

Jana looked around. Who had said that? Where was the voice coming from? Her heart started to beat faster as she considered the possibilities.

"Get off the fence," the sickly sweet voice called again. Jana couldn't see who was talking, but the voice came from the darkness at the edge of the forest.

"No," another voice shouted! "Choose me!"

Jana glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the second voice. This side seemed happier, and the voice sounded warmer, more loving even.

What was she supposed to do?

The voices continued to war for her soul. Screaming until Jana had to cover her ears with her shaking hands.

And that's when she realized where she was.

Hey guys! How have you been doing? You met Jana just now. Jana is faced with a major decision, and she realized that she was already living her life in accordance with one of the life-style choices. But which one?

Well, to answer that, we are going to need to talk first.

So today, I wanted to talk about a popular love-hate relationship. I think you all know the one I am referring, too. You either love it, or you hate it. There is no in the middle relationship.

Or so they say.

It's...

Country music!

I know people who consider country music a carnal sin, but I know other's who follow all the country stars, all the time, and go to every concert.

Me, I'm somewhere in the middle.

Breaking all the rules.  ;)

Imagine with me, if you will, a beautiful countryside fence.

On one side: pro-country music. On the other: anti-country music.

I'm sitting on the fence. I like country music, but  I don't like country music all the time, nor do I like every country musician. The country lovers call out to me, "Join us!" The country haters scream and shout, "Don't you dare!" What will I decide? Who will I join?

I sway back and forth on the fence like I'm riding a teeter-totter.

But isn't my decision already made?

I like country music. No, not all of them, and goodness, not all the time. But I am standing securely in cowboy boats and swaying to guitar twangs.

On their side of the fence.

Can you really be on the fence about anything? Obviously, everybody has things that they only tolerate some of the time. I despise olives, but I can tolerate them in a cream cheese roll-up. That's different. The big important things in life, like God, good, evil, money, and country music, there is no middle ground. You can't be on the fence.

The Bible tells us plan and simple that there is no "on the fence."

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." Matthew 6:24

In Matthew 12, starting in verse 22, you see Jesus do something incredible. He heals yet another man. This man was blind and mute, and now he's walking around saying things like, "Colors seem so bright!" This was a happy occasion for all to see.

Or at least it should have been.

When the Pharisees heard, their pointy noses shot straight up, and they started muttering, "Jesus is doing these things through the power of the devil."

Jesus being Jesus, knew that they were whining about him. So he called them on the carpet. He gave a big speech, indicating just how stupid their accusation was. A kingdom divided against itself can't stand, so why would Satan be casting out Satan? It just doesn't work! Then he says the most important part in verse 30.

"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."

My friends, you can't sit on the fence. By sitting on the fence, you've made a decision, and it isn't God. It's the world, and the world works against Jesus. In the story at the beginning, my character Jana realized where she was. By not choosing God, she was choosing the darkness.

If any of you have been struggling with this question in you life, I encourage you to hop off the fence and into God's arms. If you have any questions, or you need someone to talk with about this  decision, you are more then welcome to contact me! God bless you guys!

"And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

Have a good week, guys. I will see you on March 1st!!  :)

V. Joy Palmer

Hello, My Official Title Is...

Hey guys! I hope you all have been doing well!

So I want to talk about something important today.

Do you have an official title? I know this seems weird, but go with it.

Mr.? Mrs.? Miss.? Dr. maybe?

I've been called a lot of things in my life. Wife. Writer. Friend. Student. Youth leader. Jesus Freak. Leader. Christian. Assistant. Cheerful. Professional Coffee Guzzler.

I've been called a lot of strange things. Crazy scarf lady. Drill Sargent. Crazy youth leader. Coffee/Caffeine addict. Purple freak.

I've been called a lot of bad things in my life. Mean names. Average. Fat. Thunder Thighs. Grumpy. Sometimes people still dare to call me "cute." Ha!  ;)

But do all those things define me?

Are they me?

Well, I'm crazy for sure.

 

I adore scarves.

 

I would rather not talk about the number of donuts I have consumed of late. Don't judge. Dunkin Donuts brought back the brownie batter donuts for Valentines Day.

But what makes me, me?

Have you ever asked yourself that question? Do you sit there wondering what makes you so special?

Perhaps it's your love of dark chocolate.

Perhaps is your fear of the number thirteen.

Perhaps it's your love of all things vintage and antique.

Or maybe, just maybe, it's your pure, unwavering hatred of mushrooms.

None of the things people say about me, or any of my strange and many quirk's define me. And as much as I wish my title was something like, "McAwesomeness Galactic Renowned Writer, Wife, and Scholar," it's not. My official title is...

Daughter of the King.

So, with that in mind, I want to share a short story with you guys. God holds the day and time of the publication of my novels in His capable hands. However, I think it's time you guys see that I can really write.

So with much ado...

Meet Anna.

A young girl stood before the mirror. Piles of clothes covered her bedroom floor, bed, and desk.

It was her first day of eighth grade, and she was terrified.

Anna bit her lip, and kicked a sweater on the floor before falling onto her bed. She had literally tried on every single piece of clothing she owned at least seven times in every possible combination imaginable. Nothing worked. Nothing looked good. Nothing brought out her "womanly qualities." Nothing seemed as mature as the things the other girls in her class wore over the summer.

Because she was gross, ugly, and the freckles above her lip looked ridiculous.

"I hate you," she spoke to the girl in the mirror. She would give anything not to be labeled the "God Girl" again this year. Anna knew that sounded awful, and that wasn't how she meant it. She wanted to be cool, popular, and pretty. She wanted people to call her that.

Rolling away from the judgmental mirror, she spied her Bible sitting on the nightstand. She hadn't done her Bible reading yet today. "Great," she said as she reached for her Bible and flipped it open. "I'm living up to my reputation."

She had been reading in Psalms because her youth pastor told the youth group that Psalms had a lot of short chapters. Chapter 139, verse 13 through 16 caught her attention.

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."

"But I'm ugly and gross," she whisper-prayed to her Lord.

"You are mine." The Lord whispered back to her heart. "What else matters?"

She wanted to believe, but with everything the world said about beauty, her Heavenly Father's words didn't comfort her like normal. She wanted to fit in with the other girls. She wanted the boys to think she was beautiful. She wanted so much more.

"Everything," she whispered.

Anna didn't find closure in this story. Instead of listening to God's voice, she listened to the voice in her head who told her she wasn't good enough. I don't know a woman, young or old, who didn't experience a moment like that. A moment filled with self-loathing. A moment filled with doubt and hurt because of the things other people had spoken over you. A moment where you regretted the good qualities in your life because someone twisted it in such a way to make you feel awful.

Those things are heinous lies, and what do we do with heinous lies?

We put them in the trash were they belong.

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creations, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

If none of that can separate you from God, why would your love of strawberry ice cream and your plus size hips separate you from God?

Why do we let all those things, truth or lie, control us?  Why do we let them drive a wedge between us and Jesus?

"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." 1 John 4:16

If you will hold onto the truth found in this verse, then you will realize the only thing you can call yourself is daughter/son/child of the King.

Out of all the things people say, that is the only thing that matters.

I hope you guys have a good week! Bless you, and I will see you on the 20th!  :)

V. Joy Palmer

Random Discoveries

I am kind of a random person. That's why I like Gilmore Girls so much. Lorelei Gilmore's powers of quick-witted, random yammering is something I envy with every fiber of my being.

I have made it my mission to be random. Maybe I should start with a catchphrase...

One of my favorite Gilmore Girl catchphrases. Onwards to the next random thing!

In my continuous effort to be random, I've got a great list of randomness for you. Yes, more lists. :)

My husband happened upon this article post thing on Facebook titled: Ridiculous But True Facts That Will Make People Think You're A Liar.

How can that not be a good idea? So I thought I'd share some of them with you.

Here I go with the numbering things again...

1. Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

2. On her last birthday, Betty White was older then sliced bread.

3. If you were able to dig a hole to the center of the earth, and drop something down it, it would take 42 minutes for the object to get there.

4. On both Saturn and Jupiter, it rains diamonds.

5.  Harvard University was founded before Calculus existed.

 6. It's never said that Humpty Dumpty was an egg in the nursery rhyme.

7. The water in Lake Superior could cover the entire United States in a foot of water.

8. It only took 66 years after the first airplane flight to the first time we landed on the moon.

9. Hippo's produce pink milk.

10. The national animal of Scotland is a Unicorn.

Ha! Pink milk and unicorns...we live in a strange, weird world. Hope you enjoyed that.

I recently read a cute, sweet romantic comedy.

This is such a good read for anyone who wants to be a writer! While being a sweet romance with a modern twist on the age-old accidental marriage plot, this book is set with two writers! The whole time I read this, it pulled on my writer heart-strings. I felt like I was at the ACFW conference again, and reliving all my appointments and events! If you want to know what a writer's life is like - minus the accidental marriage - this is the book to read!

Hopefully it does not scare you.  ;)

I can't wait to dive into the next two books in the series!

Let's talk God stuff. I found this and shared it on my other blog, Snack Time Devotions. It just seemed too cool not to share with you guys, too.

"David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him." 1 Samuel 22:1

I can't tell you how many times I've read this verse, and totally glossed over it. It's one of those verses that seem inconsequential, and just explains who went where and when.

But I've learned nothing in inconsequential in the Bible. Even if it is a who when went where and when verse. So I acknowledged this verse, and what do you know, God showed me something new, a random discover within His Word. I've never really thought about it, but David really didn't have the best relationship with his family.

In 1 Samuel 16, David’s father, Jesse, didn’t give David the time of day. He didn’t tell him that Samuel was there to anoint one of them as future king.  None of them even considered that that David could be the one God had picked to be king.

In 1 Samuel 17, Jesse sent David to see how his other sons were faring in the war. When David got there and defended God, his brother Eliab was angry at him, an accused him of just sneaking down to see the battle.

In 1 Samuel 18-22, he marries Saul’s daughter, Michal, moves into/near the palace, and starts a life serving the king with his new family away from his old family. That is, until he has to run for his life without his new family.

We have no reason to believe that David’s family would support him during this time of his life when he was claiming Samuel had anointed him to be the future king, but Saul is trying to kill him for treason. They overcame their differences. They stuck together. They supported him and God’s call on his life.

“But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8

David’s family eventually came to this conclusion. They realized that God had ordained and picked David, and that they needed to support him. Can you imagine how happy he was when they showed up to support him?

I never found it weird that David’s family came and found him. I mean, if I was in David’s situation, I know my family would be standing there behind me like a movie poster of unlikely heroes. My parents are divorced, and when we moved with my mom to her home state, my grandparents, aunts, and uncles welcomed us into their homes in our time of need. Point is, if you’ve got family who is really, truly following God, then support them. Love them. Provide for them and help them. It’s important. Even if they've screwed up, don't turn your back on them. We all need our family to be there for us in the hard times.

I LOVE this song!



 God bless you guys! I will see you on February 10th! :)

V. Joy Palmer

Resolute Resolutions

Hey guys!

Sorry in advance for this post being a little long. I had a lot of points! HA!

You'll get that in a few minutes.

I found this thing on Facebook about the "myths about authors." It cracked me up, because I can relate to these points. This is my life, guys. Here's my spin on it:

1. Every author is rich.

 HA!

Unless you are a stupendous, self-published author, most of that money goes to taxes, agents, and the publishing house.

2.  Authors have a ton of free time.

HAHAHA!

Authors go to a special boot camp where the only thing you can eat for days on end is coffee. Yes, you eat the coffee. Then you learn how to deal with sleep deprivation because the wee hours of the morning are the only time that you can spare from your day to write.

3. Authors have control over their film rights.

Dude. I'm not even going to dignify that with a response.

4. Authors know how well their book is selling.

I'm not published yet, but I'm not sure this is something I would want to keep track of... I can just see myself checking every day and then freaking out to my husband that it sold two books more last week then it did this week.

I'm not sure I can put my husband through that. But we will see. :)

5. Authors have unlimited copies of their books to give away.

Yeah, and they also have the keys to Narnia.

So I've been thinking about resolutions a lot. I mean, it's only natural. It's a new year with new things to do. Or finish from the previous year. Or start from the previous year. Yikes. Anyways, I've never made a lot of New Year resolutions before...

And I started thinking...

Why do we do this?

Wikipedia says that "a New Year's resolution is a tradition in which a person makes a promise to do an act of self-improvement or something slightly nice, such as opening doors for people beginning from New Year's Day."

The Babylonians and Romans made promises to their false "gods" that they would pay their debts and return the junk they had barrowed. In the Medieval era, at the end of the Christmas season, the knights took a vow to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.

New Year resolutions often consist of the following:

1. Improve physical well-being
2. Improve mental well-being
3. Improve finances
4. Improve career
5. Improve education
6. Try new things
7. Take a special trip
8. Volunteer work
9.  Get along better with people
10. Make new friends
11. Spend quality time with family
12. Improve your relationship with God
13. Be more involved in sports or physical activities

Bet you guys weren't expecting a history lesson today.

So I decided, for possibly the first time EVER, to make some New Year resolutions!

1. I resolve to not slow down to unreasonable speeds when someone is tail-gating me with their headlights on high beam.
2. I resolve to learn the name of a sports team. Like for real.
3. I resolve to learn fencing. Eventually. (I live in the sticks, guys! No one teaches fencing around here.)
4. I resolve to push out of my comfort zone in my writing career.
5. I resolve to pitch a NEW book at the ACFW conference this September.
6. I resolve to try some new foods.
7. I resolve that those new foods will never be squid. Not again.
8. I take back number 6, making number 7 irrelevant.
9. I resolve to volunteer to do the laundry at least once. (We don't own a washer and dryer.)
10. I resolve to get more socks. Did that one already.
10. I resolve to clean out my closet.
11. I resolve to buy a new book every week. :)
12. I resolve to maybe learn how to cook something new. (Not raw chicken, mother!)
13. I resolve to clean out my e-mail inbox, and bring the unread number of e-mails down from 1,400+ to something more manageable.
14. I resolve to find an awesome new youth group game for a group of lovable kids and teens who are easily board.
15. I resolve to get in shape this year.
16. I resolve to truly, absolutely, and completely go further in my relationship with God then ever before.

Which leads me into the God stuff that we are going to talk about today.  :)

So do you remember falling in love, but you were unsure if they other person loved you back? You were all nervous, fidgety, and self-doubting. Pulling at your shirt sleeves, looking away really fast, and then looking back as you try to glimpse into their soul to see what they haven't shared with you. All you knew was one thing...

You wanted to be chosen.

Well, have you ever stopped to consider that God wants to be chosen?

Our lives are a big, epic love story with God. It goes either one of two ways. We reject the Lover of our soul. Or we pick God.

Why do you think God gave us free will? He's never wanted to force Himself on us. He has always wanted us to choose Him.

In Matthew 19:16-22, we see the story about the rich, young ruler. This guy swaggered up to Jesus. (Maybe not swaggered, but it's a fun word.) He wanted to know how to save his own soul. So he asked Jesus what he had to do to have eternal life.

I just picture Jesus talking with this young man with a raised eyebrow like "What have they been teaching kids here?" and sadness in His eyes. He knew this guy wasn't going to choose God.

When Jesus told him to keep the commandments, he wanted to know which ones. When Jesus told him to keep all of them, he said he'd done all of that. What was he missing? When Jesus told him to sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and then follow Him, the young man couldn't do it. Despite the fact that Jesus said he would have treasure in Heaven, the man's love for his earthly treasures out-weighed everything else.

This rich, young ruler wasn't motivated by his love for God. He was motivated by his love for himself. And at the end of this encounter, you see him choose himself. This epic love story of our lives is a serious of choices like the one the rick, young ruler made. Big and little. Every day we make choices to put aside us, our desires and our motives, and choose God first.

What choices have we made today where we put God first? This new year is just starting out, guys. Make a resolution that you will choose God more. Choose the one, true God. Choose the Lover of your soul. Choose your Redeemer. Don't put that off until next year. Make it your goal this year to fall even more in love with God.

I hope you guys all had an awesome first month of 2015. I will see you in February.

Hmmm...

Man, I sure numbered a lot of things in this blog post.

17. I resolve to not...number so much...next...

Nope. Can't make that promise.

See you guys on February 1st! :)

V. Joy Palmer

Readjusting to Normal

Hello everyone! I hope you guys had an awesome New Year's Day!

Mine was pretty low key. We relaxed, had one last Nerf gun war, and said goodbye to most of our family.

That was sad. Now everyone is home, and I miss them all dearly.

So, I read a book for review for one of my new writer friends, and posted it on Amazon.

Of the Persecuted by Angie Brashear was a fantastic read, you guys! Here's the gist of what I wrote on Amazon:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a fantastic read. Beware - spoilers ahead!

The book starts with a noose around her neck. She's about to die when a handsome stranger catches her eye. Immediately she is drawn to the young man, experiencing a spiritual connection. In a blast of action, the stranger frees Laila, her brother, and a child. Laila's brother is tragically killed moments later. His dying command is that Laila follow the stranger because he will take care of her.

Laila follows the stranger to his refuge for fellow faithfuls. Lars Landre has many questions surrounding him, but one thing is clear. He is the Chosen, the one destined by the Maker to deliver faithfuls and fight the evil Rendow Clan. Lars, Laila, and the child - Finney - journey to the city protected by the Maker.

I like the author's style of writing, and I usually found Laila's inner thought process to be amusing. Lars and Laila have very obvious chemistry. Laila goes back and forth, thinking that she isn't good enough for Lars. Typical girl emotions, and while you wanted to tell her to stop being blind, it was very believable.

Laila battles with the inner desire for revenge throughout the book. When she finally face-to-face with her enemies, Laila has a change of heart. I really liked how the author handled this. Laila really let compassion and love from the Maker flow through her, and even attempted to witness to her enemies.

After devastating battle and loss, the book ends on a happy note. I loved when Laila and Lars got engaged. The scene was truly magical. This is the first book in a series. For anyone who feels like the book progressed on the slower side, please remember that this is the first book in a series. As such, it contains a lot of set up for future stories.

Bottom line: this is a great read! I would not hesitate to tell friends and family to pick up a copy. So now I'm telling you. Godly truths just gush from this book! And I love the cover! When I met Angie at the ACFW conference, she showed me her business card, and I just gushed over the cover. I love how she described the book, too. "A fantasy romance." Love that! If there's romance in a story, I am so there!

Let's talk machines. So have you guys seen these contraptions? I worked at a fast food restaurant for four years before I switched to my current day job at a dental office. There was a "remodel" while I worked there, and this was what head quarters deemed an acceptable new soda dispenser.

So far I've spotted them in Five Guy's chains and the Burger King franchise where I worked. However, I spotted this guy at a Wendy's when I was in the city.

Need a crash course? You wouldn't believe how many people couldn't operate this machine! And I don't mean the simple confused expression, before figuring it out two seconds later. The simple part was operating it. The hard part was managing the syrups, updates, and the insane amount of ice that thing needed to operate!

In case you've yet to run across this, here's how you use it. Put your drink on the tray, push back against the lever if you want ice. Basically, there are a bunch of drink brands on the screen like Coca-cola, Sprite, and Ginger-ale. You tap the drink you want. Then there are a bunch of flavor options, like Vanilla Coke or Cherry Coke. Tap the flavor you want, and then - this is the hard part - push the big PUSH button under the screen.

All my BK homies will find this amusing...or maybe annoying. This one's for you guys. ;)

So when this strange, space age machine overtakes your favorite food franchise, you'll know what to do. Unless of course, you already have experiences with this pain in the rear. If you live say, not in the middle of no where, then you might have tinkered around this this soda machine already.

Oh well.

So I've been thinking about last words a lot lately. I always think of my grandmother when I think about last words. On top of that, tomorrow is the anniversary of the death of another dear family member.

When I was sixteen, my grandmother went to be with Jesus. That was a really hard time for our family. She was the matriarchal glue that held the different fractions of our family together. When she passed away, some of my family even fell away from God...

The thing that haunts me the most is that I can't remember what I said to her. Did I say I love you? Thank you for everything you've done for me? See you later? The dog won't stop licking my pants? I don't have a clear memory...I just can't remember...

I don't say all of that to bum you out. I have a point.

Whilst thinking all of these deep and melancholy thoughts, Peter immediately sprang into my mind. I just couldn't stop thinking of Peter. He had assured Jesus, that he wouldn't deny Him. Those demon-free pigs would fly over the moon before he denied Him!

And yet...

He did deny Jesus. His last words to Jesus before His death were denial.

Don't you think that haunted him? It would have haunted every moment of every day if it was me! Peter did more then just deny his friend. He denied his Savior. So this is just my personal opinion based on what I see in the Bible, but I think a part of Peter was a little desperate for those horrid words not to be the last words between him and Jesus. I mean, the guy ran everywhere to try to be the first one to Jesus when Jesus was raised from the dead! I don't know about you, but I only run when I have to run, like when I'm being chased by a bear. Maybe if I have something really important to say.

Peter had something really important to say!

When Peter saw Jesus standing on the shore, he didn't think. He reacted. He jumped into that water just to get there quicker. This was the third time Jesus had revealed Himself to the disciples. When that soul-cleansing moment came, oh how it renewed him! All that other junk was washed away for good.

We can't always take back out last words. We don't always find closure. We can control what we say in the here and now. We can use words of love and affirmation. Most importantly, we can bless God.

What would your last words to God be? Yikes! That's a sobering thought. Have we even spoken to Him today? Did we bless Him, thank Him, or even tell Him we love Him lately? Do you remember the last words you said to the Lover of your soul?

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14

Make them good ones.

Well, that got real o'clock.

I pray you guys have good days ahead, blessed and full of joy. But even if they are not, I pray that you still bless others and live in the joy of the Lord.

See you guys on January 20th! And just to make you smile.

My brother got me this for Christmas!

Owl miss you! See you next time! Haha!

V. Joy Palmer

Dashing in the New Year!

Happy New Year, my friends!!!

So.

Pure. Craziness.

Like so much.

I hope all your Christmas' were awesome! Filled with family, fun, and food. A little Christmas alliteration for you. ;)

As I mentioned to you guys last time, we had a ton of family coming for Christmas. My brother, sister, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law and his family all came for Christmas. So the past ten days have been spent bouncing back and forth between Sam's family and my family. We literally went to each house twice on Christmas day.

Here's a little recap just to give you a glimpse of my great holiday dash.

Five days before Christmas:
A little Christmas lunch with my dad, brother, and sister in the city.

Christmas Eve:
Dan, Jessica, and their sons arrived. We hung out with them for awhile. My nephews have grown so much!

*Side note* I love being an aunt! Really. It's so much fun. Only an aunt can get away with giving Nerf guns and foam swords to two boys under ten years old. My other nephews live in Virginia, and I don't see them very often. I'm so blessed to be "Aunt Joy" to these two lovable boys!

Christmas Day:
Opened presents with Sam's family. Opened presents with my family. Had Christmas dinner with Sam's family. Put stuff away at home. Sam went to work - he had to work an overnight on Christmas. Then I went back to my mom's house.

Day after Christmas:
Visited with my family. Nerf gun war with my nephews! Girls movie night with Bekah, my sister-in-law, and Jessica, my brother-in-law's wife! We enjoyed ice cream, my fabulous coffee cream cheese brownies, and Leap Year. After the movie we just sat around and talked until very late.

Day after the day after Christmas:
Homemade french toast breakfast made by Jessica. Then my mother and I went to the city to drop my sister off with her boyfriend. Then dinner with Sam's family. While the rest of the family was watching one of the stupidest movies known to man, Jessica and I went over to my house. We talked until really late again. I love girl talk!

*Side not again* I am a typical girl when it comes to talking. I love girl talk. It comes easy when you are young. You talk about your crushes, clothes, and the newest "torture" your parents are inflicting on you. What about when you get older, or when you are married? The girl talk may change, but it never goes away! I had so many deep and wonderful, sisterly conversations with Christine, Bekah, and Jessica! I've missed Christine and Bekah so much. They are such good sisters. And it's been so much fun getting to know Jessica even better. I only have a few married friends, and where our husbands are brothers, it was nice to get some insight from her. :)

December 28th:
We went to church, and then an afternoon showing of the newest Hobit movie.

SPOILERS!!! I am a hobit loving person. Star Wars. Star Gate. Star Trek. Lord of the Rings. So I don't take what I'm about to say next lightly.

I only kind of liked this movie.

I mean, of course I like it. It's a Hobit movie. However, there was no down time in the movie. It was literally all fighting, arguing, and no humor whatsoever. The love story they developed was pointless, but if you've ever read the book, you know why. Urg!

Other then that, I liked it.

So then Sam and I went out to dinner with Dan and Jessica, and Sam's other brother Matt, and his fiancee Wendy. Bekah was supposed to come, too, but she took to her bed sick. We had a lot of fun though.

New Year's Eve:
Sam and I hung at at his parent's house with everybody else. Sam made delicious french onion soup. (That's right, ladies. My husband can cook!) My mother-in-law gave me the recipe for her delicious cheese ball, so I made that. We watched movies and talked. :)

Despite all the running around, we have had so much fun with our families!

Here are some of my favorite Christmas/New Year's moments!

Lot's of coffee!

Last minute shopping and coffee with my sister!

My silly husband :)

Opening presents

Picking on my husband ;)

My husband and nephew passed out during a movie.

My brother, sister, and I

My newest nutcracker! Seriously, I am obsessed with these guys! 

Sam and I <3

Watching The Princess Bride on Christmas day

A beautiful new piece for my town!

So. I do have a Biblical, kind of New Years thought to share with you guys. In my own personal Bible reading, I found this verse.

"Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed." Psalm 34:5, ESV Bible

This is an awesome verse! When I read this verse, it made me think of a Moses story, found in Exodus 34:29-33. Moses comes down from the mountain with the two tablets (containing the ten commandments for the second time), and he was all business as usual.

Except for one thing.

His face glowed with the glory of God!

Sweet, right? At first the people were scared, and even after Moses calmed them down, he still had to wear a veil over his face!

So here is my proposed New Year plan.

Let's be like Moses.

Moses so fit that verse from Psalms. He looked to God, and no one else. Because of that, his face was covered in the glory of God. He got to spend one on one, face to face time with God! Can you think of anything cooler then that? Exactly. There is nothing cooler then that. His face displayed no shame because that kind of stuff doesn't live around God. Only glory remains.

I say again, let's be like Moses. Let's have such an intimate relationship with God, that we have glowing glory faces. Make that your goal for the New Year, and I promise you, it will be a year you never forget.

So my friends, have a blessed New Year with your family and friends! Thanks for making me a part of your year. I will see you again on January 10th! :)

V. Joy Palmer

They'll All Be Home for Christmas

Guys. Five days to Christmas.

Five days.

FIVE DAYS!

I'm not excited at all. ;) Just kidding.

Last weekend, my sister-in-law, who is one of my bestest friends, came home from college for winter break! So excited to see her! Bekah and I have been friends long before she became my sister. This was her first year off at college, and I missed her so much! You don't realize how much you take your friends for granted until they live on the other side of the country.

My baby brother also came home last weekend. Happy he's home for the holiday. I actually haven't seen my brother, Sean, since last Christmas. He's in college, and instead of coming home last summer, he went on his first missionary trip to China! That's right! I know missionary folks. :) Anyways, shortly after Christmas he is going on a missionary trip to Mexico, and then back to China this summer. Sean has always been one busy guy!

Then this past Thursday, Sean picked up my baby sister Christine from college. So happy to see her. My baby sister is one of my heroes. This past June, she had open heart surgery. She's only nineteen. She was born with a heart condition, and underwent heart surgery as a baby. Thank God, she didn't need another surgery until this year.

God's hand was upon her. My sister is a strong young woman. Christine was released from the hospital four days after the surgery, and another week or so after that, she quit taking pain medication.

Next up is my brother-in-law and his family. They will be arriving next week with their two sons for Christmas.

(Side note: Man, all I got is nephews! We really need a little girl in the family. Baby girl clothes are the cutest! My husband and I are at the stage in our marriage where we are being asked about kids a lot. Asked, or on the receiving end of "subtle" hints from the future grandparents.)

Here's what we got my nephews for Christmas.

Yeah. This is happening. ;)

The other nine guns are so the adults can play with the kids defend themselves. Sam insisted on picking out his own nerf gun. He likes it because it looks like it's being held together by duck tape. Bekah and I have been eyeing the bow and arrow nerf guns. We are all looking forward to their visit, and it's going to make for a busy, nerf-filled Christmas! :)

This is my nativity scene.

I love this nativity scene. It's made from olive wood from olive trees from Israel. How cool is that? Anyways. Our cat, Angel, likes it a lot too. She's taken up rubbing her face on baby Jesus.

Observe.

I have to pick out the chunks of gray fur that surround the wise men every couple of days.

So I was writing a kid blog for Snack Pack for Kidz, and I was thinking about Mary, mother of Jesus. Man, she was cool! Right? Really think about this. Most historians believe Mary to be around 14 years old when she had Jesus. Can you imagine finding out at 14 that you have to have a baby, and by the way, he's the Son of God?

Crazy.

I don't know about you, but I would have flipped a lid.

But what does Mary do?

"And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.'" Luke 1:46-47

Her immediate response was to rejoice! She thanked God! Her soul magnified him! She could have been worried about being a mommy, or what people would think of a 14-year-old, unmarried girl having a baby. Instead she choose to thank God and rejoice in Him.

I want to be like Mary!

This young woman was, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest examples of faith we could ever see. She didn't question God on the topic. Once she got over the shock of being a virgin mother, she accepted God's will for her life.

And in a bizarre twist, praised God.

I think this Christmas, we should remember to be more like Mary. This girl was not given an easy task, but she accepted it with such dignity and poise. She was happy to do it! We all should be happy to do the tasks God has give us. Goodness, we should even rejoice and thank God for them!

Well, guys. This is the last time we are going to talk this year... I always feel a little nostalgic at the end of the year. What big things happened in my life this past year?  What things am I hoping for in the coming year? How has God moved in my life? Will this finally be the year Friends comes to Netflix. You know...important questions like that. I can tell you one thing for certain: I so look forward to the year to come, and I can't wait for all the fun stuff I have in store for you guys!  This is only the beginning...

I hope you all have a blessed, happy, and merry Christmas! Thanks for hanging out with me today! I will see you all January 1st!

Next year. ;)

Merry Christmas!

V. Joy Palmer