I know that is a probably a strange title for a blog post. But it is the name of a book I read yesterday. Yes, I read a book in basically one setting. Is there any other way to read a book!
This is a must read. It is the story of two sisters and a major struggle they had in life. They share honestly about the pain and heart ache. But that is not the main point of the book.
Their reason for writing was to share their faith journey. Yes, they questioned God in the process. Man has been doing that for centuries. There are many stories in the Bible where people questioned what God was doing and why. To find the answer sometimes you have to just be still and listen. And wait.
I don't want to spoil the book for you, so I won't share any details. But God does stay close to them in their struggles. That's what He does, ya know! He offers comfort and healing for their wounds and then blesses them beyond their dreams.
I don't know these ladies, but I feel so connected to them. One of them went to school at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri where my siblings, their spouses and our daughters went. One of them lives in Ozark, Missouri and I have friends that live there. They quote Beth Moore and Rick Warren, two of my favorite authors! And God gave Heather a dream of writing a book to tell their story.
The book is available at Amazon for $11.50, $8.50 for Kindle edition, at Barnes and Noble, and Nook edition and probably your local Christian bookstore. They have a Facebook page - Dancing on My Ashes. They do a lot of speaking engagements which you can find that on their page. I would highly recommend going to see them if they are in your area.
Get the book. Read the book. Be blessed by the book. Share the book with someone else.
That's what we do with the gifts that God gives us.
Blessings.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Move 1 Space, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200
We've gone and done it. Passed the next big mark in life. Moved into the next decade. Mark's 60th birthday was yesterday. Not sure how that happened so quickly. Many parts of life feel like a Monopoly game. Buying houses, paying taxes, getting a fresh start on New Years Day, tho no one passes out $200 on January 1! But sometimes it feels like my piece is moving too quickly around the board!
When I started this blog, I was going to call it Life in the 50's. Thankfully, I asked for opinions on the title and a friend suggested I wouldn't always be in my 50's! But I still feel like I'm in my 50's, doesn't that count for something? Rachael's girls were talking yesterday morning about PaPa's birthday and one of them said he didn't look like he was 60, he looked like he was 40. They had a puzzled look and no response when mom told them she was almost 40! And how did that happen?
Tara sent out a few messages and asked people to tell what Mark had meant to them and she put all their responses in a nice book. Friday we had a private family party and Mark read aloud the book. It was so touching. So many people had such kind and appreciative words to say about what Mark had done for them, how he had encouraged them, been a mentor to them and what a great example he is of what a godly man, husband and father looked like. What a priceless gift.
And Mark has been all that and more. He is a compassionate man, cares deeply for others and is always quick to offer to help people. I am blessed beyond words to do life with this man.
We had a few friends over on Saturday and enjoyed their visit. For 'decorations' I set out pictures of Mark from years past. They got a kick out of the many faces of Mark Baines - dark hair, grey hair, beard, no beard.
Okay, neither of us look like we did years ago. But we are still committed to each other and to loving the Lord the rest of our days.
One of the cards Mark got said 'here's to another 60 years'! I don't think we want to live to be 120, but we sure are enjoying this season.
We're a lot less stressed and not overloaded with busy activities. It's just the two of us and we have more say in choosing what to do. We did go to Scarlet's soccer game Saturday morning - my first soccer game ever. It was so cute!
And we've been to adorable dance recitals, Kindergarten graduations, princess birthday parties and such.
These days we're looking to future events. I've sent my book to the publisher and it's supposed to be ready by Christmas. Some days I think Mark is more excited about it than I am! Retirement. It's not going to happen soon, but we're talking about it. Trying to be well prepared. One advantage of not being the oldest is that Mark has an older brother who has figured out all the details so we can learn from Tony what all we need to do. I remember thinking when we were in our 20's that we'd have plenty of time to get ready for retirement. Who knew it would come so quickly?
I've been in this decade for 14 months now. I've decided it's an okay place to be. Truthfully, I'm grateful to be. Be here to do things with Mark. Be here to see what fabulous adults are children have become. Be here to watch our little girls grow up. Be here to be a part of what God is doing in Reno, Nevada.
We are working on being. Being in the moment. Being a part of something bigger than ourselves. Taking good care of our souls. Helping others learn to do the same.
I wished we'd learned the importance of being at a younger age. But grateful for the vision of it now.
Are you being in the moment or is life passing you by?
Are you being an involved part of your life, or are you an observer?
Are you helping others along the way?
Are you taking good care of your soul?
These are the things that will matter at the end.
Living life.
Being a part of life.
Helping others in your life path.
Taking care of your soul.
If you'd like some resources that would help with that, I can be reached at
cindybainesauthor@gmail.com
(if you'd like to follow the progress of my book, I've created a Facebook page or it. Comment here and I'll add you to the page.)
When I started this blog, I was going to call it Life in the 50's. Thankfully, I asked for opinions on the title and a friend suggested I wouldn't always be in my 50's! But I still feel like I'm in my 50's, doesn't that count for something? Rachael's girls were talking yesterday morning about PaPa's birthday and one of them said he didn't look like he was 60, he looked like he was 40. They had a puzzled look and no response when mom told them she was almost 40! And how did that happen?
Tara sent out a few messages and asked people to tell what Mark had meant to them and she put all their responses in a nice book. Friday we had a private family party and Mark read aloud the book. It was so touching. So many people had such kind and appreciative words to say about what Mark had done for them, how he had encouraged them, been a mentor to them and what a great example he is of what a godly man, husband and father looked like. What a priceless gift.
And Mark has been all that and more. He is a compassionate man, cares deeply for others and is always quick to offer to help people. I am blessed beyond words to do life with this man.
We had a few friends over on Saturday and enjoyed their visit. For 'decorations' I set out pictures of Mark from years past. They got a kick out of the many faces of Mark Baines - dark hair, grey hair, beard, no beard.
Okay, neither of us look like we did years ago. But we are still committed to each other and to loving the Lord the rest of our days.
One of the cards Mark got said 'here's to another 60 years'! I don't think we want to live to be 120, but we sure are enjoying this season.
We're a lot less stressed and not overloaded with busy activities. It's just the two of us and we have more say in choosing what to do. We did go to Scarlet's soccer game Saturday morning - my first soccer game ever. It was so cute!
And we've been to adorable dance recitals, Kindergarten graduations, princess birthday parties and such.
These days we're looking to future events. I've sent my book to the publisher and it's supposed to be ready by Christmas. Some days I think Mark is more excited about it than I am! Retirement. It's not going to happen soon, but we're talking about it. Trying to be well prepared. One advantage of not being the oldest is that Mark has an older brother who has figured out all the details so we can learn from Tony what all we need to do. I remember thinking when we were in our 20's that we'd have plenty of time to get ready for retirement. Who knew it would come so quickly?
I've been in this decade for 14 months now. I've decided it's an okay place to be. Truthfully, I'm grateful to be. Be here to do things with Mark. Be here to see what fabulous adults are children have become. Be here to watch our little girls grow up. Be here to be a part of what God is doing in Reno, Nevada.
We are working on being. Being in the moment. Being a part of something bigger than ourselves. Taking good care of our souls. Helping others learn to do the same.
I wished we'd learned the importance of being at a younger age. But grateful for the vision of it now.
Are you being in the moment or is life passing you by?
Are you being an involved part of your life, or are you an observer?
Are you helping others along the way?
Are you taking good care of your soul?
These are the things that will matter at the end.
Living life.
Being a part of life.
Helping others in your life path.
Taking care of your soul.
If you'd like some resources that would help with that, I can be reached at
cindybainesauthor@gmail.com
(if you'd like to follow the progress of my book, I've created a Facebook page or it. Comment here and I'll add you to the page.)
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
A Book is About to Be Born
I have always loved stories. A favorite past time of my childhood was reading. All of the Nancy Drew books in the library had my name on the card, multiple times! I read them over and over. By the time I was out of 8th grade, I'd seen "Gone With The Wind once and read the book three times. And had decided I would have a Tara some day!
When I was in the throws of breast cancer and not feeling very good, I told Mark I was going to write about it. His response, "Sure, honey, you can do anything you want." He was just humoring me.
After we got to Reno, I started my chemotherapy. When I was almost done, I started writing. I finished it in about a week. I was home alone and bored, what else was I going to do. Some of it I wrote while I was still under the influence of the nasty meds and it was mindless rambling. Once my head cleared more, I had to delete a lot.
Once I'd edited it as much as I could, I wasn't sure what to do. I talked about it with lots of people. I ordered a couple of Publisher's Guides and they were massive. The guides are a listing of all the publishers in the country and the types of books they take, their requirements, what they offer and boat loads of more info. And it is all cross references two or three times. Way too confusing.
So I left the book alone and just waited.
Two years ago, Mark's dad died. Mark told me he wanted to use some of the money we got from Dad's estate to start the process of getting my book published. I was blown away that he offered to do that. It really meant so much.
At the time we had a young woman in our Bible study group who was a professional editor, so I paid her to edit my book. I was a bit hesitant to let someone 'change' my book. I have my own style and I didn't want it 'fixed'. Megan assured me that she wouldn't mess with my style. I also got online and figured out how to purchase an ISBN for my book.
Then I hit another wall. I looked into self publishing which meant you had to download an app to put a book into a specific format. It was all over my head, more than I could make sense of. So the book was put on hold again.
Somehow, I really don't know from where, I was put in contact with a Christian publishing company in Florida. I responded to an email and someone called me on my birthday. Mark and I were getting ready to go to the lake for the day and I didn't have time to talk much. He sent me some info, I looked it over and replied to his email. He called back the day before we were leaving for an 11 day vacation and I really didn't have time to think about what he was saying.
There has been a flurry of emails and phone calls in the past week or so and we have a contract with a publisher. I'm pretty stoked, for sure!
I don't have the finances to pay the fee, so I'm looking for someone or an organization that would like to fund a project. This is not going to be a large, expensive book, so clearly I'm not going to be making a lot of money on it. And that was never the purpose.
The purpose of my book is to tell how difficult the cancer journey was and how the prayers of friends and family, my faith and encouragement from music got me through it. It's God's story of healing through medicine and prayers. The book is meant to give God the glory for his provisions, not to make us rich.
So I'm looking for an investor and the process is moving along. They've told me it should be ready for holiday shopping! Crazy!
So, if you're reading this, I'm hoping it means you'll want to read my book too! And tell your friends about it.
Stay tuned and I'll post progress here!
When I was in the throws of breast cancer and not feeling very good, I told Mark I was going to write about it. His response, "Sure, honey, you can do anything you want." He was just humoring me.
After we got to Reno, I started my chemotherapy. When I was almost done, I started writing. I finished it in about a week. I was home alone and bored, what else was I going to do. Some of it I wrote while I was still under the influence of the nasty meds and it was mindless rambling. Once my head cleared more, I had to delete a lot.
Once I'd edited it as much as I could, I wasn't sure what to do. I talked about it with lots of people. I ordered a couple of Publisher's Guides and they were massive. The guides are a listing of all the publishers in the country and the types of books they take, their requirements, what they offer and boat loads of more info. And it is all cross references two or three times. Way too confusing.
So I left the book alone and just waited.
Two years ago, Mark's dad died. Mark told me he wanted to use some of the money we got from Dad's estate to start the process of getting my book published. I was blown away that he offered to do that. It really meant so much.
At the time we had a young woman in our Bible study group who was a professional editor, so I paid her to edit my book. I was a bit hesitant to let someone 'change' my book. I have my own style and I didn't want it 'fixed'. Megan assured me that she wouldn't mess with my style. I also got online and figured out how to purchase an ISBN for my book.
Then I hit another wall. I looked into self publishing which meant you had to download an app to put a book into a specific format. It was all over my head, more than I could make sense of. So the book was put on hold again.
Somehow, I really don't know from where, I was put in contact with a Christian publishing company in Florida. I responded to an email and someone called me on my birthday. Mark and I were getting ready to go to the lake for the day and I didn't have time to talk much. He sent me some info, I looked it over and replied to his email. He called back the day before we were leaving for an 11 day vacation and I really didn't have time to think about what he was saying.
There has been a flurry of emails and phone calls in the past week or so and we have a contract with a publisher. I'm pretty stoked, for sure!
I don't have the finances to pay the fee, so I'm looking for someone or an organization that would like to fund a project. This is not going to be a large, expensive book, so clearly I'm not going to be making a lot of money on it. And that was never the purpose.
The purpose of my book is to tell how difficult the cancer journey was and how the prayers of friends and family, my faith and encouragement from music got me through it. It's God's story of healing through medicine and prayers. The book is meant to give God the glory for his provisions, not to make us rich.
So I'm looking for an investor and the process is moving along. They've told me it should be ready for holiday shopping! Crazy!
So, if you're reading this, I'm hoping it means you'll want to read my book too! And tell your friends about it.
Stay tuned and I'll post progress here!
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