Thursday on Amish Wisdom: Hutterite Cookbook Author Judy Walter

Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in - go here and just click on the player in the top right corner. 

Don't miss this week's show. I'll be speaking with cookbook author Judy Walter. Her cookbook, At Home in the Kitchen: Mennonite, Hutterite and Amish-Style Cooking, reflects Judy’s enjoyment of cooking and preparing wholesome meals. Each recipe, throughout the wide range of food categories, comes with clear step‑by-step instructions using simple ingredients. Be sure to tune in on Thursday, January 26th at 4PM Central.

Judy has generously offered to give away three copies of her cookbook. Just leave a comment {HERE} to be entered. Winners will be notified next week via email!

More about Judy: The prairies and an amazing grain farm in southern Alberta were home to Judy Walter.  In thepattern of Hutterite communities, a central kitchen was the scene of old-fashioned good eating, as delicious and abundant as anyone could wish for. Three times a day the big bell pealed out the sound that signalled the call to the kitchen where the food was waiting.

Years of observing and helping with food preparations gave Judy the opportunity to explore her own bent in the kitchen.  She had the experience of being involved in cooking large amounts of food as well as paring down to making meals in her own kitchen.  Many guests passed through her doors, leaving with memories of delicious meals or snacks shared around her kitchen nook.

Check out Judy's blog for recipes along with tips and tricks from At Home in the Kitchen.

More about At Home in the Kitchen: At Home in the Kitchen is a 7"x10" spiral bound book with full-color laminated covers.  There are 8 color pages illustrating a sampling of the recipes as well as celebrating the beauty of Alberta.  Along with colorful photos, you will find heart warming anecdotes and personal experiences that enliven the pages of this beautiful cookbook.  With over 300 recipes its sure to be a favorite.

Unbroken: A Talk with Louis Zamberini

Have you read the bestselling book "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand? It's a story about the life of Louis Zamberini, a 94-year-old Olympian and World War II hero. He spoke at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church last weekend and I had the great privilege of hearing him (along with thousands of others!). He's just amazing. Funny, irreverent, a survivor, and a committed Christian. But the Christian part came later to him--after returning home from three grueling years in a Japanese P.O.W. camp. Well, you can find out for yourself by listening to the video:
 Louis Zamberini

Here's a little info about his life:

Growing up in California in the 1920s, Louie was a hellraiser, stealing everything edible that he could carry, staging elaborate pranks, getting in fistfights, and bedeviling the local police. But as a teenager, he emerged as one of the greatest runners America had ever seen, competing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he put on a sensational performance, crossed paths with Hitler, and stole a German flag right off the Reich Chancellery. He was preparing for the 1940 Olympics, and closing in on the fabled four-minute mile, when World War II began. Louie joined the Army Air Corps, becoming a bombardier. Stationed on Oahu, he survived harrowing combat, including an epic air battle that ended when his plane crash-landed, some six hundred holes in its fuselage and half the crew seriously wounded.

On a May afternoon in 1943, Louie took off on a search mission for a lost plane. Somewhere over the Pacific, the engines on his bomber failed. The plane plummeted into the sea, leaving Louie and two other men stranded on a tiny raft. Drifting for weeks and thousands of miles, they endured starvation and desperate thirst, sharks that leapt aboard the raft, trying to drag them off, a machine-gun attack from a Japanese bomber, and a typhoon with waves some forty feet high. At last, they spotted an island. As they rowed toward it, unbeknownst to them, a Japanese military boat was lurking nearby. Louie’s journey had only just begun.

Old Man Winter

Why winter chose to show up on this last weekend is a mystery! My dad's memorial service was on Saturday.

My daughter, grandbaby, sister and niece were stuck in Seattle's Worst Blizzard of the Century. My college son was stuck in Chicago with a normal Midwest blizzard. The Seattle crew finally rented a 4 wheel drive jeep at 1am and hit I-5 for a fourteen hour drive. (My determined sister was NOT going to miss our father's service.) My son was never able to get here. My dad's 91-year-old brother made it from Boston, but just barely. His plane was delayed for hours because of the weather in San Francisco on Friday night! The poor dear arrived after midnight (three a.m. his time).

But...by 11 am on Saturday, we were all gathered at a little chapel. My mom chose to have a family-only service for a couple of reasons--mainly, because Dad's Alzheimer's had taken such a toll on everyone. We needed time together as a family to minimize that decade of AD and maximize Dad's life in its entirety.

A beautiful little chapel in Los Altos

My dad loved to take pix. The beautiful flowers were chosen and arranged by my friend, Nyna.

A few minutes before the service.

Little Blake added comic relief.

And that's just what happened! A wonderful hour of Dad's favorite hymns (led by my niece), his favorite Scripture read by the sons and grandsons, and a poignant, "Heaven-focused" message by the minister.  As my niece sang "The Lord's Prayer," the sun broke through the clouds and lightened the chapel.

Afterwards, we had lunch together at my brother's home and shared memories of Dad. My husband wrapped it up with a prayer, thanking God for Dad's long life. 

Add caption

Catered by Draeger's!

My brother Tom's three children

My sister, Wendy, and me

My older brother, Dave, and me holding Blake

Believe it or not...we all watched my son Tad's basketball game (live streaming) in Illinois! 

My mom on left, my son Gary in the middle, my Uncle Ed on the right

My sister's daughters, Heather and Hilary

My younger brother, Tom, with his daughter, Kelly

My niece Heather with my daughter Meredith

 Dad would have been so pleased.  He always did have a knack for bringing a little sunshine to winter.

Thursday on Amish Wisdom: Organizing and Simplifying with Cindi Ferrini and Kathryn Bechen!

Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in - go here and just click on the player in the top right corner. 


I'm excited to chat with this week's guests. We've all heard (and probably experienced) the results of being unorganized and too busy (it's usually the "being too busy" that leads to my being unorganized!). Our first guest this week, Kathryn Bechen, author of Small Space Organizing, will be sharing ideas and tips for being organized and talking about why that even matters! Then during the second half of the show we'll hear from Cindi Ferrini. Her recent book, Balancing the Active Life, offers some advice on avoiding the pitfalls of our hurry, hurry culture. Stress, fatigue, disconnected families, ruined relationships and so much more. She'll be sharing tips on how to balance all that God's called us to. Be sure to tune in on Thursday at 4PM Central!

Both ladies are giving away a copy of their books. Leave a comment below for a chance to win one. 
Winner's will be notified next week via email.

More about Kathryn: Kathryn Bechen is an award-winning lifestyle writer specializing in home decorating andorganizing, how-to, weddings, and travel. She is the author of several lifestyle e-books, and her feature articles have been published in national and regional magazines such as Cottage Style, Small Room Decorating, Country Almanac, and San Diego Style Weddings. Kathryn's new home-related book, published by Baker Publishing Group, is scheduled to release to bookstores everywhere, and online book outlets, in early 2012. Kathryn lives in sunny San Diego, CA, USA, with her husband and business partner of many years, Steve Bechen. For more information please visit her blog and website at www.KathrynBechenINK.com.

More about Small Space Organizing:

With a few tricks up your sleeve, small can be the new big!

While we may admire the spacious rooms in large homes we see in magazines or on TV, let's face it: most of us don't live in rambling estates. Instead, we live in homes, apartments, or condos with small rooms and even smaller closets. But you can enjoy an organized, beauty-filled life no matter what the size of your space. In this practical book, you'll learn how to

• perform a room-by-room audit of your space to see if it's functioning at its best
• make the most of existing storage space and find clever ways to add more
• find creative ways to arrange furnishings and accessories that maximize space and bring harmony and style to the home 
  live graciously in a small space with others (especially those who aren't organized!)

Whether you're an empty nester who's downsizing, a newlywed setting up your first nest, or someone who just needs some creative new ideas, you'll love these strategies, tips, and solutions to maximize space and enhance your quality of life.

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More about Cindi: Cindi enjoys speaking on topics that will encourage men and women to make a difference in their sphere of influence by being all they can be for the Lord, their families, and themselves. Joe and Cindi are on the speaking team for Family Life Ministries, a marriage-focused ministry founded by Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ.

Joe (a dentist) and Cindi have enjoyed ministry together as they direct the City Focus Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ in the Northeast Ohio area as associate staff since 1989. They helped to bring the Billy Graham Crusade to Cleveland in 1994 and served as trained counselors, supervisors and leaders. They were also responsible for the direction of distributing over 32,000 pieces of material to inquirers that came forward throughout the crusade. The Billy Graham Association asked them to establish follow-up in the NE Ohio area because of the discipleship ministry they already had in place. They have also served as City Ministry Directors of the FamilyLife conferences in Cleveland (NE Ohio) from 1990-2001 with expansion to Akron in 2000 and an Urban Familylife Conference in Youngstown, OH, in October of 2001! Joe and Cindi now speak nationally for the Familylife Marriage Conferences. For more info, please visit  http://www.cindiferrini.com

More about Balancing the Active Life: If you struggle to get organized, Cindi's your new friend who understands...

[She] will enable you to develop a more balanced life. -Susan Alexander Yates, speaker and author
...concrete ways to move ahead toward a balanced life. -Joy Downs, speaker and co-author

Balancing a pyramid of seven people on a tightrope cable only 5/8-inch thick, the Great Wallendas showed the world their astonishing skills. They performed their balancing act 35-100 feet high over dens of lions! How many times did they nearly lose their balance?

Though you might not be surrounded by lions, who is to say that your life isn't just as stressful with your own set of acrobatic and balancing acts?

'How we spend our time is the life we live,' says Cindi Ferrini of Creative Management Fundamentals.

Join author and balancer Cindi Ferrini as she presents her 13-week interactive Bible study that addresses the question: 'Does being a Christian mean we automatically have a balanced life?'

Everyone gets carried away with work, family, ministry, and life opportunities available to us. And sometimes we neglect the areas that God is calling us to and that are best for us. Through this study, you'll learn to balance your priorities, set and achieve goals, and discipline and organize yourself in a variety of areas.

Just as the Wallendas learned the excitement of being in balance and walking the tight rope, you too can take the challenge of learning what it takes to Balance the Active Life!

Answers and Winners from The Keeper #Facebook Party!

First the answers from the trivia contest: 

1. What time of day did Rome travel with his bees?

During the night.

2. Why then?

The bees are quiet at night. They get active as the sun warms the hives.

3. Why do some bees stay close to the entrance of the hive?

They guard the hive.

4. Can bees survive cold winters?

Yes! That’s what the honey is for. Think of it as a bee’s pantry.

5. What is the year-round temperature inside of a beehive?

Roughly 94 degrees. A wonder!

AND BONUS Super Duper Trivia Questions 

1. What kind of bees did Rome have? Why was that type of bee significant to Rome?

His mother had raised brown bees. They were the only things he kept from his family farm in Ohio.

2. What does Suzanne’s husband, Steve, love to do in his spare time?

Make amazingly good vanilla ice cream! (He makes other flavors, too, but he’s VERY determined to make the world’s best vanilla ice cream. He says that you can hide flaws in other flavors, but not vanilla. It’s too pure.)

Here is the list of every one who won something at the party tonight:

Thank you all so much for coming to tonight's party, following along on the blog tour and entering to win the iPad! I saw so many new faces tonight. And of course, it was lovely seeing the familiar faces of old friends!

If you are a winner please email Christen at Litfuse with your mailing address!

Congratulations to Dawn Little Crawford! You've won a copy of The Keeper!

Congratulations to Kathleen E. Belongia! You've won a copy of The Keeper!

Congratulations to Stacie K. Beach! You've won an advance copy of The Keeper and some Beeswax Candles!

Congratulations to Angela Vaughn! You've won a copy of The Keeper and a Starbucks Gift Certificate!

Congratulations to Jodi Frasier! You've won a copy of The Keeper!

Congratulations to Melinda K. Busch! You've won a copy of The Keeper!

Congratulations to Jennifer Rote! You've won a copy of The Keeper and some Lancaster Honey!

Congratulations to Serena M. Barnett! You've won a copy of The Keeper and a Starbucks Gift Certificate!

Congratulations to Sara Martin! You've won a copy of The Keeper!

Congratulations to Lindy Enlow! You've won a copy of The Keeper!

Congratulations to Mandy Bentley! You've won a copy of The Keeper for posting your photo on my wall!

Congratulations to Lori G. Drake! You've won a copy of The Keeper for posting your photo on my wall!

Congrats to Sasha Wade trivia contest winner ! You won a copy of The Keeper and a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com!

Congrats to the SUPER DUPER trivia contest winner Allyson Langworth! You won a Book Club Prize pack and some Lancaster Honey! You'll receive 10 copies of The Keeper for your small group or book club and a LIVE chat with Suzanne (done via Skype, Video or Phone!) You'll also receive a trio of Lancaster honey!

And here is the iPad Giveaway winner:

Congrats to Nancy Steward from Florida! You were with winner of The Keeper iPad2 Giveaway! Send your mailing address to amy@litfusegroup.com and we'll get your iPad2 on the way to you!

For Lexophiles

1.   A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.
2.   A will is a dead giveaway.
3.   Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
4.   A backward poet writes inverse.
5.   A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.
6.   When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
7.   The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.
8.   You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
9.   He broke into song because he couldn't find the key.
10. A calendar's days are numbered.
11. A boiled egg is hard to beat.
12. He had a photographic memory which was never developed.
13. The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison: a small medium at large.
14. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
15. When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.
16. If you jump off a Paris bridge, you are in Seine.
17. When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.
18. Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
19. Acupuncture: a jab well done.
20. Marathon runners with bad shoes suffer the agony of de feet.
21. The roundest knight at king Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
22. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
23. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
24. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.
25. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
26. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
27 Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
28. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
29. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
30. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
31. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'
32. A small boy swallowed some coins and went to the hospital.  When his mother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, 'No change yet.'
33. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

Thursday on Amish Wisdom: Conquering Your Fears!

Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in - go here and just click on the player in the top right corner. 


This week on Amish Wisdom we've got two guests who will help you start 2012 right. The first half hour we'll hear from Deborah Pegues about taming your fears. Whether it’s failing finances, rocky relationships, or the angst of aging, the spirit of fear is paralyzing people from living out the lives God intended them to fulfill. What can be done? Are we destined to be slaves to our fears? Deborah will help answer those questions and more. Then during the second half hour we'll hear from Saundra Dalton-Smith. Saundra is  a practicing physician who shows women how to break free from fear, insecurity, and other lies they tell themselves and into a life of health and balance in her new book, Set Free to Live Free. She'll be sharing her tips for freeing ourselves from some of the mental ties we bind ourselves with: perfection, envy, image, balance, control, emotions, and limits. 

Both Deborah and Saundra have copies of their book to giveaway - leave a comment {HERE} (with your email address) for a chance to win one. Two winners (one for each book) will be selected next week and notified next week via email. 

More about Deborah: Deborah Smith Pegues is a dynamic, high-energy motivational speaker, CPA, and certifiedbehavior specialist who delivers sage advice on gaining relational, financial, and emotional freedom. Her books include 30 Days to Taming Your Tongue, 30 Days to Taming Your Finances, 30 Days to Taming Your Stress, Confronting Without Offending, and more. Her advice has appeared in several national magazines. Pegues has also made radio and television appearances on shows produced by FamilyNet, Salem Radio Network, Moody Broadcasting Network, and more.

For more about Deborah and her other books, visit http://www.confrontingissues.com.

More about 30 Days to Taming Your Fears: Deborah Smith Pegues, behavioral specialist and bestselling author of 30 days to Taming Your Tongue (more than 500,000 copies sold), sheds light on rational and irrational fears and offers readers a path of hope and assurance.

With her trademark clarity and practical wisdom, Deborah addresses spiritual, relational, physical safety, financial, and emotional fears with godly principles and straightforward helps. Each step of the way, she gives readers power over fear by helping them understand:

• the foundation of  their fears
• God’s  perspective on their specific anxiety, fear, or phobia
• how to respond to fear triggers with information, awareness, and confidence
• ways to embrace healthy fears and to resist unhealthy ones
• how  neutralizing their fears  maximizes their life

This will be an invaluable resource for anyone walking the minefield of constant apprehensions who is ready to exchange fear for the peace which passes all understanding.

More about Saundra: Saundra Dalton-Smith is a physician, teacher, wife, and mother who is passionate about helping women overcome the mental barriers that prevent them from living free in Christ. She combines the knowledge and compassion of her medical training with biblical principles to offer those bound by insecurity, anxiety, fear, and doubt a prescription for living free. To learn more about Saundra visit www.setfreetolivefreebook.com. Read more at http://www.drdaltonsmith.com/about.aspx.

More about Set Free to Live Free: A Physician Shows How Our Physical Health Is Impacted By Spiritual and MentalChoices

Discover the seven lies women believe about themselves and how they can overcome them 


Author Saundra Dalton-Smith, a practicing physician, shows women how to break free from fear, insecurity, and other lies they tell themselves into a life of health and balance in Set Free to Live Free (ISBN: 978-0-8007-1993-7, May 2011, $12.99). Smith shares with readers how one patient reshaped her practice and approach to medicine. One day, a patient entered her office, and as Smith listened, she recognized she would need to work closely with this patient if she was to get better. She could not simply offer the latest medications, but would instead need to walk with the patient and help her become free from the lies that had impacted her physical health. Readers will journey with this patient and others as Smith shares how their triumphs became her motivation to see others free.

Imagine life with unlimited possibility, where fear, misconceptions, and insecurities don't have the power to rob us of our potential or our dreams. Many women have trouble seeing this vision, because they are bound by mental ties that keep them from living free. In Set Free to Live Free, Smith will show women how to break free from seven mental ties that hold them back: perfection, envy, image, balance, control, emotions, and limits. She encourages women to embrace spontaneity, be transparent, nurture their bodies, and cultivate a balanced life through compassionate and inspirational writing.

A study guide is provided at the end of the book outlining each chapter with discussion questions.

Catchin' Up

Hi there!

Sorry it's been so quiet on the blog front lately...my dad's passing has taken a lot of the "whoosh" factor out of life.

And what energy I do have is going to "The Keeper." It's just released and is getting some very strategic thumbs up.  Over 50 reviews already on Amazon!

Litfuse Publicity is doing a wonderful blog tour for "The Keeper," including an iPad contest (yahoo!), prizes and giveaways. You can join in the fun by clicking here. And mark your calendar for the Facebook party on Tuesday, Jan. 17th, 8pm EST. If you haven't been to a Facebook party before, give it a try! It's a lot of fun. I'll be there!  

Today, I'm blogging over at Novel Rocket. I wrote a piece about the purpose of waiting in a writer's life (in anybody's life!). Pop over and check it out! 

Last thing, I'm sending out a newsy newsletter later this week and would love to include you. You can sign up here.

Happy Wednesday!