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The Snows of Kilimanjaro

Filed Under Family and Friends, Success, Writing Inspiration
Posted on July 30, 2007 @ 10:23 am by Marla 

      My best friend, Abbi, is quite the adventurer! She just climbed the 20,000-foot Mount Kilimanjaro. Located in Tanzania, it’s the tallest mountain in Africa and one of the most massive extinct volcanoes on earth. Amazing how our perspective on God, ourselves, others and this exquisite planet changes when we see the world from a different vantage point.

 

      I can’t wait to get a photo of Abbi on the mountain! Makes me want to take a mission trip or an exotic vacation, too. (Not that climbing a mountain is much of a vacation!) If you’ve been on an exciting adventure lately and have some great photos to share, let me know at marla_alupoaicei@yahoo.com. Thanks! 

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17 Simple Steps to Surviving a Writer’s Conference

Filed Under Communication, Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, Success, Writing Inspiration
Posted on July 29, 2007 @ 9:03 am by Marla 

Friend and fellow author B.J. Hamrick has written a funny article on how to survive a writer’s conference. Check it out on The Master’s Artist by clicking this link:

http://tpr.typepad.com/themastersartist/2007/07/17-simple-steps.html

Enjoy! 

 

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FLOW Devo

Filed Under Resources, Success, Writing Inspiration, flow
Posted on July 27, 2007 @ 9:15 am by Marla 

      Hello! I’d like to send out a hearty “Thank you” to those who have already contributed to my new devotional book, flow. If you would still like to contribute, please scroll down to the article ”Go With the Flow,” (posted on July 19), which contains guidelines for your submissions.

 

      NOTE: Please use The Message or the NASB (New American Standard Bible) for your Scripture verses if possible. You may easily access these versions online and do searches on Bible Gateway at http://www.biblegateway.com. I look forward to reading your inspired, creative musings! Thanks, friends! Blessings. 

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Free Books!

Filed Under Articles for Caregivers, Family and Friends, Food, Parenting Your Parents with Grace, Resources, Success, Time
Posted on July 27, 2007 @ 9:07 am by Marla 

Hello! I would like to make available to you some FREE books. Each book contains over 200 pages of excellent health and lifestyle advice, as well as over 60 simple and delicious recipes. The books are an especially useful resource for caregivers, but are available to all of my wonderful readers!  

 

To receive a book, simply e-mail me at marla_alupoaicei@yahoo.com or post a comment below. Please include the book title you have selected as well as your name and mailing address. I will send out your FREE book right away!

 

The available book titles are:

 

-The Recipe to Women’s Health 

-The Recipe to Men’s Health

-The Recipe to Healthy Weight

-The Recipe to Healthy Aging

-The Recipe to a Low-Allergen Life

-The Recipe to Pain Management

-The Recipe to Healthy Living with Diabetes

-The Recipe to Mental Health 

-The Recipe to Digestive Health

-Dr. Mollen’s Anti-Aging Program (by Dr. Art Mollen, board-certified osteopathic physician and renowned health and fitness expert; Director of the Mollen Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona)

 

Enjoy your FREE book and please pass the word on to your friends! Thanks.

 

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The Power of Gratitude

Filed Under Faith and Values, Success, Writing Inspiration
Posted on July 25, 2007 @ 9:46 am by Marla 

      In her incredible book Radical Gratitude, Ellen Vaughn describes what it may have been like to be healed of leprosy:
      One day about two thousand years ago, Jesus was on the outskirts of a village… As he’s on the road, ten tattered lepers call to Him from afar. They dare not draw nearer.
      “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
      Jesus’ heart moves for them. He tells them to go show themselves to the local priest.
Off they go. Faltering but hopeful.
      And as they are going, the Scriptures say, they are healed.
      The ten stumble along the road, ragged robes flapping. Bystanders scurry away as they see the lepers coming.
      As the men hurry, the dirty rags fall from their faces. I can imagine what happened next.
      “Hiram!” shouts one. “Your nose!”
      “What do you mean, my nose?” says Hiram, bustling along.
      “You’ve got one!”
      “Aaugghghh!”
      Piling to a stop, slamming into one another like clowns at the circus, they stare at each other’s faces, mouths wide open. They unwind the rags from their hands, shouting because they have fingers again. They leap into the air; they land, sure-footed. They strip off their bonds and clap their arms around each others’ shoulders, laughing with joy. They can’t wait to find their families. They sprint toward town.

      But one whirls and turns in the other direction, back toward Jesus. He runs fast with his new feet. Weeping, he falls and kisses Jesus’ perfect ones.
      “Thank You!” he sobs. Thank you. Thank you.

      Ten were rescued, cleansed, given a brand-new beginning. Yet nine ran the wrong way. Only one ran for Home base, where Jesus was.
      Friends of our have a family mantra. “Be the one!” they tell their kids and each other. “Be the one who thanks Jesus. Let others go where they may. You be the one who is grateful.”
 

      Be the one!

      What are you grateful for today? Please post a comment here.

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A Promise Kept

Filed Under Articles for Caregivers, Faith and Values, God\'s Plan for Marriage, Illness and Grief, Intercultural Marriage, Parenting Your Parents with Grace, Success, Writing Inspiration
Posted on July 24, 2007 @ 10:20 pm by Marla 

Today I read A Promise Kept, the remarkable true story of Robertson McQuilkin’s journey as a husband and caregiver. He left his high-profile job (he served for 22 years as the president of Columbia Bible College and Seminary) and withdrew from public ministry in order to stay home and care for his wife, Muriel, who had Alzheimer’s disease.

 

McQuilkin describes one particularly compelling incident that occurred during his caregiving years:

 

      Once our flight was delayed in Atlanta and we had to wait a couple of hours. Now that’s a challenge. Every few minutes, the same questions, the same answers about what we’re doing here, when are we going home? And every few minutes we’d take a fast-paced walk down the terminal in earnest search of - what? Muriel had always been a speed walker. I had to jog to keep up with her!

      An attractive women executive type sat across from us, working diligently at her computer. Once, when we returned from an excursion, she said something, without looking up from her papers. Since no one else was nearby I assumed she had spoken to me or at least mumbled in protest of our constant activity.

      “Pardon?” I asked.

      “Oh,” she said, “I was just asking myself, ‘Will I ever find a man to love me like that?’”

 

Robertson McQuilkin kept his promise to Muriel: to love her for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. He cared for her for over twenty-five years until she passed away on September 20, 2003. His extraordinary testimony of faith has inspired millions of people to love their spouses extravagantly, kindly, selflessly, and compassionately. I pray that I would be able to do the same for my amazing husband.

 

Kindness is so important in any caregiving relationship, whether we are providing for a spouse, a parent, a child, or another loved one. In the book of Proverbs, King Solomon exhorts us:

 

      Do not let kindness and truth leave you;

      Bind them around your neck,

      Write them on the tablet of your heart. (Proverbs 3:3) 

 

What do you think of McQuilkin’s decision and his sacrifice? Please post a comment here.    

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The Grace of Catastrophe & The Catastrophe of Grace

Filed Under Communication, Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, Success, Writing Inspiration
Posted on July 22, 2007 @ 3:47 pm by Marla 

I recently had the privilege of meeting Jan Winebrenner, who graciously gave me a copy of her book The Grace of Catastrophe. In addition to being an extraordinary woman and the author of seven books, Jan serves as the director of the Dallas Christian Writers’ Guild.

 

I love the title of Jan’s book. I keep mulling over the paradox of it: the grace of catastrophe, and the catastrophe of grace.  

          

Through eyes of faith, we can see God’s grace at work even in our lives’ most excruciating catastrophes. And, by the same token, God’s grace - both to us and to others -  is a catastrophe, in the sense that its extravagance causes a crisis for us as human beings. In fact, this catastrophe is what causes so many to doubt God.

            

We Christians (and I’m preaching to the choir here!) say that we want grace, but what we really want, deep down, is justice. We want the so-called “good people” of the world to be rewarded and the “bad people” to be punished. When we see God’s grace poured out like streams of cool water to the deserving as well as the seemingly undeserving, many of us act like the miffed older brother of the prodigal son or the laborer who worked the entire day for a denarius and grew disenchanted when he saw another worker receive the same pay for one hour’s work. 

 

The catastrophe of grace is this: For by GRACE you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. -Ephesians 2:8-9

     

But the grace of catastrophe teaches us that God is greater than our circumstances. It demonstrates that through our weakness, He is strong. It affirms that we can consider it pure joy that we are facing trials of various kinds, knowing that this testing produces ENDURANCE and ENDURANCE leads to SPIRITUAL MATURITY (James 1:2-4).  

 

What are YOUR thoughts on grace? Please post a comment here.  

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The Golden Age

Filed Under Articles for Caregivers, Children, Faith and Values, Family and Friends, Parenting Your Parents with Grace, Stress and Conflict, Success, Writing Inspiration
Posted on July 21, 2007 @ 9:37 pm by Marla 

On January 1, 2011, the first of all the Baby Boomers will turn sixty-five. Before long, people who are sixty-five will be caring for parents who are eighty-five and grandparents who are 105.

 

Our parents’ golden years were meant to be just that: golden. This period of later life is not simply a “waiting station” between this world and the next. As children and caregivers, we can encourage our parents and grandparents to live with purpose, passion, and prayer. We can listen to their teaching and their wise advice. We can help them get outdoors more often, eat healthfully, interact with friends and family, tell their stories, record their memories, and create a powerful legacy to pass on to others. Most of all, we can communicate God’s love through our own love and care for them.

 

If you’re a hardworking caregiver who needs a dose of spiritual refreshment today, please take a few moments to meditate on this uplifting passage of Scripture:

 

      My son [or daughter], do not forget my teaching,

      But let your heart keep my commandments;

      For length of days and years of life

      And peace they will add to you…

      Trust in the Lord with all your heart

      And do not lean on your own understanding.

      In all your ways acknowledge Him,

      And He will make your paths straight.

      Do not be wise in your own eyes;

      Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

      It will be healing to your body

      And refreshment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:1-2, 5-8)

 

For a list of excellent resources on caregiving, please click on the “Parenting Your Parents” link at the top of my front page. I’ll include many more tips and resources for caregivers in the forthcoming book Parenting Your Parents with Grace: The Christian Caregiver’s Compehensive Guidebook, coauthored with Darlene Ankerberg. More information will follow soon!

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Go with the Flow…

Filed Under Communication, Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, Resources, Success, Writing Inspiration, flow
Posted on July 19, 2007 @ 10:02 am by Marla 

I’m working on a book called flow that contains inspired devos for creative Christians. I’m excited about this project! God truly has opened the floodgates of blessing when it comes to this book.

 

I am currently accepting submissions of creative devotionals for possible inclusion in flow. If you would like to write a devotional for consideration, please let me know by e-mailing me at marla_alupoaicei@yahoo.com. You may send your devo to me as an e-mail attachment. I have eleven sample devos written and can send you those at your request. I’d like to receive your devo submissions by AUGUST 17, if possible. 

 

I’ve already received quite a few submissions, and they’re amazing! I love seeing how the landscape of each person’s spiritual walk combines with his or her life experiences and writing style to produce a completely unique, thought-provoking devotional.

 

Structure: Begin with a Bible verse or a creative quotation. Then expand on that in 3-4 paragraphs. You may also use a personal story or an illustration from a book in the body of the devo. (Please be sure to send me all bibliographical information from any books, websites, or other sources used.) Then, tie it all up with a compelling ending, which could include a powerful application point or quotation, a short writing exercise, or a thought-provoking question. [2 typewritten pages maximum]   

 

If possible, please use the NASB (New American Standard Bible) or The Message. See www.biblegateway.com to access these versions online.  

  

Thanks, creative friends and colleagues! I look forward to reading your submissions. Blessings!

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Pottermania Redux

Filed Under Children, Faith and Values, Generation Hex, Resources, Success
Posted on July 19, 2007 @ 8:50 am by Marla 

I received an official invitation to the “Grand Hallows Ball” at Borders bookstore, which was held on Friday, July 20. The ball was a celebration of the midnight launch of the so-called “Biggest Book of All Time” (!) - the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series.  

 

I also noticed a sign yesterday at a different bookstore that asked, “Will you be with Harry in the end?”

 

Actually, my hope is to be with God in the end. How ’bout you?

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