Sharing

I believe we are on this earth to love and uplift one another. I think it pleases God, makes Him smile when we do a kindness for someone. It isn't easy as we go about our daily lives to feel this sort of "love" especially with the sandpaper people we encounter daily.

When was the last time you really took the time to put aside the cell phone and listen to that person who's talking to you? When was the last time you made that phone call to a loved one who might be lonely? I, too, am so very guilty of this. I can be typing away at my computer, lost in a story I'm writing, and my husband is asking my opinion of something. I haven't heard a word he said. I must close the cover of my laptop, look him straight in the eyes, and really listen to what he's saying.

As for calling or visiting a lonely loved one, the other day while sitting in the nursing home with my husband's Uncle Hubert, thinking of all the other things I should or could be doing, the dear elderly man looked at me and said, "Thank you so much for coming today. I really miss you guys." Wow, lump in throat, and convicted! What did it take, only an hour out of my precious schedule to give this man a little happiness?

Having said that, it is with great pleasure I share another author's work with you on this page. For I think in loving others, we must build them up, help promote them. I believe this makes our Heavenly Father smile. Take a moment, or two or thirty, and think about someone you can help today. A phone call, a post on Facebook, a little card sent in the mail. And when you encounter people, close your laptop, turn off your cell phone and really listen to them. You'll make their day and perhaps, in the process, your own day will become one of the happiest in a long while for you.

http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Talk-Dementia-Caregivers-ebook/dp/B00CTAW7MS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376265397&sr=1-1&keywords=carol+howell

Carol Howell is a Certified Dementia Specialist and Endorsed Life Coach with an emphasis on Music Therapy. After her husband's brain injury in 1992 and her mother's diagnosis of Alzheimer's in 2006, Carol felt the need to learn about the brain. As her knowledge increased, she became more intrigued and determined to become an equipped and prepared caregiver. Her company, Senior Life Journeys, was born from this desire to learn and help others.
Carol is the author of IF MY BODY IS A TEMPLE, WHY AM I EATING DOUGHNUTS? It tells of the "amazing miracle" that helped her lose 100 pounds. The book is written with the humor and sincerity Carol is known to display in her own life.
Carol also authored LET'S TALK DEMENTIA - A Caregiver's Guide. This easy to read book is full of helpful tips for caregiving, information about dementia, and 23 SMILES that will brighten your day.
Carol resides in South Carolina with her husband, Michael, and they are the proud parents of a daughter who is a physician assistant in Florida.

Stepping out of my comfort zone

     It began almost eight years ago. The tiny voice inside, the desire to do something different, something bigger. An opportunity presented itself to me. Would I take it?
     I'd lived in a small town my whole life. I'd lived a small life, never venturing outside of comfort zones. Driving was limited. Panic attacks in different parts of my life held me back. Insecurity and thoughts of failure.
      Yet I had a good life. Good, loving family and close bonds. A job I adored, and friends who meant the world to me. But something was missing.
     When I met my husband, and we became close in a short period of time, I told him I'd never move the hour away from all that was familiar to me to be with him. He stubbornly told me he would not sell his house and if we were to be together, the move would have to come from me. I didn't like it. I mulled it over, even speaking to a beloved counselor. I prayed deep, heartfelt prayers asking God if this would be the right thing for my life. And many signs pointed the way. Messages I'd heard, things I read. That still, small voice.
     I sat with my writer's group last evening, only four of us, and felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. In the seven years since I picked up my small town life and made a drastic change, I've come so very far. Had I stayed put, I may never have known this lovely group of people who helped push me toward my dreams of writing. Had I not moved, I would never have known the amazing people I've worked with all these years and how much we share with one another. I wouldn't have found a church home that has inspired me and made my life fuller. I would not have began speaking to God daily as my best friend.
     I drive father than I've ever gone. I love deeper than I ever thought possible. I've sacrificed and given away myself in ways I never imagined. All of this has molded me into the woman I've become. And with God's help, I will continue to step out of other comfort zones and leave myself open to all He has in store for me.
     May you find the strength to step out of your own comfort zones. Dream big dreams and imagine the possibilities in store for you when you take a small step of faith.

http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-my-Fathers-Secret-ebook/dp/B00C50FKJE/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1366058893&sr=1-5&keywords=karen+malena

Introducing Wiley Cash

I've heard it said before that those who don't learn from the past are bound to repeat it, and I just don't know what I think about that. I figure I don't have too much use for it. The past will just weigh on you if you spend too much time remembering it.”
― Wiley Cash, A Land More Kind Than Home 

 Today, I'm going to do something different with my blog. I'd like to introduce an up and coming author Wiley Cash. I found Mr. Cash from a sidebar on Facebook recently when a mention of To Kill a Mockingbird was used to describe his recent book. 

The story is told in the voices of three major characters. It's the type of story that grabs hold of you and doesn't let you go as you turn each well-written page. The voice of Jess, the younger brother in the story put me in mind of Scout Finch. I love the Southern "voice", the southern ways. I found myself becoming lost in a time and place that's not mine. A time and place I've never known.

This story will stay with me for some time to come. And I look forward to anything else this amazing author may be up to in his future. Let me leave you with his biography and his book blurb. It is my hope you will come away feeling as I did when you discover Wiley Cash and "A Land More Kind Than Home."

For a curious boy like Jess Hall, growing up in Marshall means trouble when your mother catches you spying on grown-ups. Adventurous and precocious, Jess is enormously protective of his older brother, Christopher, a mute whom everyone calls Stump. Though their mother has warned them not to snoop, Stump can't help sneaking a look at something he's not supposed to—an act that will have catastrophic repercussions, shattering both his world and Jess's. It's a wrenching event that thrusts Jess into an adulthood for which he's not prepared. While there is much about the world that still confuses him, he now knows that a new understanding can bring not only a growing danger and evil—but also the possibility of freedom and deliverance as well.
Told by three resonant and evocative characters—Jess; Adelaide Lyle, the town midwife and moral conscience; and Clem Barefield, a sheriff with his own painful past—A Land More Kind Than Home is a haunting tale of courage in the face of cruelty and the power of love to overcome the darkness that lives in us all. These are masterful portrayals, written with assurance and truth, and they show us the extraordinary promise of this remarkable first novel. 

 http://www.amazon.com/Wiley-Cash/e/B0055W9GHQ/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1360753746&sr=8-2-ent

The Power of Prayer

   

  The ringing of the phone woke me from a delicious afternoon cat nap.  I hadn't slept well the night before, and after an extremely busy work week, I'd decided on some shut eye to revive. 
      It was a friend from church asking for a favor.  She had an anonymous monetary gift for a struggling family at our church and asked if I would deliver the card it was enclosed in.  This would be a person I'd never met, but she gave me a brief description of the woman and mentioned that her son might be "greeting" with us that night.
     Once a month, my husband and I help out in our church.  Greeters are people who stand at different doorways, either the outside doors or inside the auditorium, and give a smile, word of encouragement or help someone find a seat, welcoming newcomers and making them feel warm and at home.  This was to be our night helping out, and both of us weren't feeling as eager as we usually did since  it had been an unusually rough week at work. Here I was faced with a task not wanting to let my friend down, but a little grumbly at having to find a woman I'd never met before.
     Now, you have to understand one thing.  Our church is huge.  On average, there may be hundreds of people walking through our doors.  This would be like finding a needle in a haystack.  My plan was to inquire to someone in our "greeters" special room, if they knew who the family was and would they be kind enough to send them to the door my husband and I would be standing at.  I had serious doubts that I would be able to really find them.
     My friend delivered the card to me before we left for church.  Her overwhelming goodness and kind heart made me ashamed of how I'd been feeling before she arrived.  The recipient of the gift would be a woman who was going through some extremely rough financial times.  She hadn't been to their bible study in a while unable to even put gas in her car.  It was my friend's desire to give this woman some much needed help, but to not let her know where the gift came from.
     It lay heavy on my heart to pray about this and I asked my friend to pray as well.  Pray that I would really be able to find this woman, to bless her with such goodness.  Even on the ten minute drive to church, I didn't talk much with my husband, continuing to pray for God to intervene.  In the stillness of my heart I heard, "Things that aren't possible with man, are possible with God."
     We arrived at church, entering a side door we didn't use much.  For such a big church, nobody was walking around this particular area but  I saw two people standing a little down the hallway speaking to one another, a woman and teenage boy.  Something inside me said:  "This is the family."  I asked my husband to continue walking ahead of me and let our group leader know we had arrived.  Then I shyly walked up to the people and asked if they knew who this particular family was.  Both of their mouths dropped open and they stared at me as if I was crazy.  "Are you them?"  I asked.  "Yes," they said.  I handed the card to them and said someone wanted to bless them.  After hugging them, I walked away incredulous.  In a church with a congregation as huge as ours, I had not only found the right party and specifically known it was them, but they were the first and only people I'd seen as we walked through the doors.  Two people I'd never met before.
     Never underestimate the power of prayer.  I believe God answers prayers, especially when it blesses someone else.  The fact that my friend and I had both been praying for the same thing, the fact that this would be an enormous blessing to someone, God intervened in such a supernatural way.  There are no coincidences.  Only the true power of prayer.
   

Buy my heartfelt novel on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-my-Fathers-Secret-ebook/dp/B00C50FKJE/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1366058893&sr=1-5&keywords=karen+malena
    

Mother and Son

     I'm tickled to share the spotlight with my talented son, Matt.  As an author, I look forward to people telling me they enjoyed my stories.   Nothing brings more of a smile to my face however, than seeing my son becoming popular.  Once a bit of a timid child, Matt now video blogs for hundreds of fans.  His Journey to the Claw Machine videos have gone semi-viral on You Tube causing people to take notice of a young man from a small town.  As a child, Matt became obsessed with playing crane machines.  He was quite good at them, and I rolled my eyes as new stuffed animals marched through the door of our home in droves.
     In later years, Matt would become talented in filming and editing his own videos.  He attended Robert Morris University where he took up video editing, film making, and photography.  It was the skills he learned at college, coupled with his love of crane machines which prompted him to come up with an idea to help others learn tips of these machines and become skilled at them as he was.
     Every mother wants good things for their children.  Through the years I've prayed that my son would be a good person, generous and kind.  God has answered these prayers in the form of what Matt is now doing with his video channel.  He has partnered with The Teddy Bear Brigade an organization which takes donated stuffed animals and gives them to children who have suffered tragedies in their lives.  He has given away his own claw machine wins to victims of Hurricane Sandy.  He donated to children in the wake of the Sandy Hook school tragedy.  When I see his good heart, I am filled with happiness and know God has heard my prayers.

     When asked about what is important for successful video blogging, Matt gives these answers:
     Interaction with your audience is most important.  If you receive positive comments on the You Tube site, comment back to your fans.  Let them know you appreciate them and their support.  
     Keep current with new uploaded videos.  At least once a week if not more frequently, you must keep the content of your video blogs fresh and lively.  Be creative, and give the fans what they want.
     Make it entertaining.  Sometimes Matt is downright crazy as he goes about filming his journeys, screaming when he loses, jumping up and down as he wins, saying some of the craziest phrases which have caught on with his fans such as "goober" and "aroo".  
     Lastly, giving back to the community in the form of giveaways and live interaction with your fans.  As an author has a book signing, Matt plans meet and greet sessions with his more local fans.  Recently he met with a young boy who has Asperger's syndrome at his local mall.  It was one of the greatest days of Matt's life, not to mention the child who emulates all of Matt's tips and sayings.

 You can find Matt at blogtv:  http://www.blogtv.com/people/matt3756

 Facebook at  :https://www.facebook.com/pages/Matt3756-Fan-Page/138475439543218?ref=ts&fref=ts

And of course you may subscribe to his videos at:  http://www.youtube.com/user/matt3756

                                                   

     

Blog Hop The Next Big Thing

Today
my blog is part of something bigger than usual. Last week, Dana Arcuri invited me to be part of a blog hop called The Next Big Thing. I was not familiar with doing a blog hop, but I decided to try it because it is an opportunity for me to bless other authors.  It has been a prayer of mine to be an encourager to others.  This is a small step, a small help to show you the amazing talent that's out there that God is blessing our amazing readers with.

The purpose is to help readers discover the next great book or author; i.e., the one they will be compelled to read or the author whose work they simply can't put down.

Check out Dana's book debut and blog:

http://writing4theheart-n-soul.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-next-big-thing-blog-hop.html

Dana Arcuri is a Contributing Author for Inspired Women Succeed, published in May 2011.  She is the Director of Prayer and Contributing Writer at Write Where It Hurts.  Currently, she is writing Harvest of Hope: Living Victoriously Through Adversity, which brings an inspirational message of hope, healing and overcoming hardship.

What is awesome about this blog hop is the exciting adventure to learn about authors from various genres and styles.  One may never know the possibilities in our future. Her work might just be the next big thing,
or perhaps mine, too. Whatever the case, we are living out our passion for writing and making a positive difference within our world.

 Another part of this blog hop involves me answering ten questions about my book:



1.         What is the working title of your book?

 My Mother's Kitchen.  Volumes 1-4 are presently published.

2.         Where did you get the idea for your book?

My amazing publisher once saw an old photo of my great-grandfather and said it would make an awesome story someday.   I thought about a woman finding such a photograph for the first time, looking into the haunting eyes, wondering about the life of the man.   Thinking about stories my mother and I talked about through the years, I wanted to share the feeling of a close-knit family and how they build one another up by remembering stories from their past.

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3.         What genre does your book fall under?  

Women's inspirational fiction.

4.         Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?  

Diane Lane or Meg Ryan for Kate.  Kathy Bates for Kate's Mom.  

5.         What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Join Kate and her Mom as they share warmth, love and the answers to some of life's issues in the comfort of her mother's kitchen. 

6.         Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?  

I am represented by Helping Hands Press.

7.         How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Probably about a month.  Each volume takes a little over a month. 

8.         What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Books by Karen Kingsbury or Debbie Macomber. 

9.         Who or what inspired you to write this book?  

Having a very close relationship with my dear Mom.  Being like best friends through the years, sharing stories from her youth.  Mom's childhood was quite the roller coaster ride, some good, some bad with an abusive, alcoholic father, but also loving Italian family and vivid imagination to get her through.  Some of the things I write about in this series really happened, such as the strange visitor one Christmas Eve, the creepy, old house with an odd man who was misunderstood.  I take some truths, add in a dash of imagination and hope to spark in my readers the sense of old-fashioned family values missing from today's society.

10.       What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Each volume deals with truth interspersed with fiction.  For example, the first volume deals with an Italian immigrant when he first arrives in America.  The next volume shows a character much like Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird.  Another volume deals with 9-11 and the horrors of that day. 

      Next week, please take the opportunity to hop on over to the blog listed below.  Grace Yee is a very talented, new young author.  Her short story series The Woman in Scarlet is amazing with a fairy tale type flair.

 http://www.graceyee.blogspot.com/

My name is Grace, lover of books, keeper of secrets, and cookie connoisseur. Being the youngest of four children has given me insight and passion for the people and activities which form the pattern of my day-to-day life. Dancing has given me a physical escape while writing allows me to put that passion into words. Being homeschooled, I've had the opportunity to step into a magical wardrobe before breakfast, go on covert missions in Wal-Mart, and chasse' to the Nutcracker. So allow me to share with you the stories and novels which color my dreams, quotes that ricochet in my mind, and characters that I hope you will love just as much as I do.


Thank you all for joining in this fun venture and please check out the blogs of the amazing women I've shared with you today.

Encouraging words

          Just the other day I posted on Facebook how good it feels for someone to "like" what we write about or "like" the pictures we share.  It gives us a sense of purpose, a way to belong and have our voice be heard.
     Think back to when you were a child.  We would tug on our parent's sleeve, pulling at them to come see what we drew, or what creation we were up to.  We would practically hug ourselves with delight when our beloved Mom, Dad, aunt, uncle or grandparent would acknowledge what we showed them.  Their words of encouragement such as "That's the best picture you've ever drawn" or "Wow,  you really did a great job!" really ring in our ears as some of the best things we ever heard.
     Or how about the look on your own precious child's face?  Okay, they might have slopped finger paints all over your kitchen table, but when they feel they've done something good, something worthy of your praise, how can we fail them by not giving our undivided attention to them?
     It's a different world we live in full of electronic devices which can suck the very life from us.   I'm using one of those even now as I write this.  But let's take a step back from the cell phones, i-pads, touch screens, laptops just for a few moments a day and truly reconnect with our children and loved ones.  Let us be the encouragement they seek, the kind word, the approving look, the "atta boy" which is so necessary in today's society.
     While growing up, my son loved being filmed.  He would chant over and over, "Dad, tape me, tape me!"  Then when we'd watch the video later, he would point at the television screen proudly declaring, "That's me!"  The precious moments captured on film will live on forever.  The time it took to create these memories is priceless.
     God is waiting for us with His own encouraging words.  "Do not fear for I am with you.  Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  He's just waiting for you to talk with Him.  Not with flowery words, but with gritty, from-the-heart words which pour out from your very soul.  He will acknowledge you.  He will make you feel you are special, you are loved, you are approved.
     Let's all get back to basics and be like the little child we once were, waiting for approval from our beloved Daddy.  Let's do it in the quiet and stillness of our hearts. 

Buy my heartfelt book on Amazon:
  http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-my-Fathers-Secret-ebook/dp/B00C50FKJE/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1365980927&sr=1-5&keywords=karen+malena

Ambridge man claws his way to video fame - Timesonline.com: Local Entertainment

Ambridge man claws his way to video fame - Timesonline.com: Local Entertainment

     Twenty-five years old.  An amazing young man.  A little timid when he was younger, my son Matt now has a YouTube following with his Journey to the Claw machine series.  Obsessed when he was a small boy playing crane/claw machines, he actually purchased his own in his early twenties.  He taught himself the ins and outs of the workings of the machine, and eventually the tricks of the trade enabling young and old alike to have more "wins" at the game in video arcades.
     He has fun with this, making crazy videos, sharing his enthusiasm, whooping it up for his fans.  But recently he took on a more serious role.  Matt has begun to donate his claw machine wins to some charities that specialize for children in dire situations such as Hurricane Sandy victims and the recent school shooting in Connecticut.  He also met a fan of his who has Asperger's syndrome recently and the two played machines together as if they had known one another their whole lives.
     It makes my heart happy to see how far my son has come in such a short time.  I always knew God had great things in store for him, and now I see the promise being fulfilled.  

A Day of Changed Lives

     September 11, 2001.  A day that would change history in our country.  As a younger, single mother, I couldn't watch as the events unfolded on the television that night.  I couldn't bear to think about what was going on around me and my young son.  Would we be safe?  Would more devastation happen perhaps even closer to home this time?
     I had been working at a dentist office at the time when the news first hit the airwaves.  I looked up from the patient seated before the dentist and I, eyes wide behind the safety glasses I wore.  Hmmm, just an accident, I thought at first.  Then the report came in of a second incident and later more tragic news.  I wanted to bolt from the office, pick my child up from school and hunker down somewhere safe.  The dentist would not permit me to go.  He told me it was business as usual and nothing further would happen.
     As I walked through the door to my parents home after work that evening, seeing the faces of my loved ones before me, I gave silent thanks to God.  How many others would be crying out to Him that night?  How many others were in the midst of grief and despair?
     I shut down after that.  I would not view television reports, look at newspaper or magazine articles.  It was as if I wanted to live in my own little world.  A world where things like this did not happen.
     It would take me many years to finally watch the events of that fateful day.  My new husband saved newspaper articles, and little by little, I became curious.  We would sit and view poignant programs about the many events of September 11th.
     The day my husband took me to the plane crash site in Somerset, Pennsylvania would change my life.  As we stood on the hillside, the wind whipping about us, I could feel the solemness, the almost spiritual quality in the very air.  I began to appreciate the heroes and the many people who had died that day in a way I never had before.  The small chapel where many had left condolences and tokens of love was an all too vivid reminder of the lives snuffed so briefly out.

     Each year my husband and I make the hour or so trip to this hallowed site.  There have been several changes through the years, improvements as it were.  But the initial feeling of the sacredness, the feeling you perhaps get when you first stand on the Gettysburg battlefield remains. 

Thanksgiving Humor

     With trepidation, I pulled the portly bird in its wrapped packaging from the refrigerator yesterday morning.  I laid it upon the counter, eyeing up the name Butterball.  "Yes," I thought, "very appropriate."  I set to work, with surgical precision cutting the wrapper from the body.  I was expecting a demon-possessed entity looking back at me.  All I saw was a white, plump body of a turkey.  Nothing to be frightened of.
     I donned thin, latex gloves.  No way I was going to stick my hands up into the cavity of this thing.  I'm supposed to pull out what?  Hmmm, so far, so good.  I found the necessary innards to remove:  turkey neck, very ugly; some package of red, squishy things I didn't even want to know what they were.  Okay, it was going well.  With salt shaker in hand, I began to wash, even scrub the bird inside, outside, under wings and over legs.  When the thing was practically squeaky clean, I began speaking to it.  Now, this is not a normal thing for me.  I talk to my cats on occasion, and they love me for it.  I sing crazy songs to them while they look up at me, love clearly written on their feline faces.  But I felt it necessary to address the bird.  Tell it some stories about what a pretty thing it was, how good it was going to look after it was baked, and just some all around general chit chat.  Hubby didn't even glance up from some work he was doing at our kitchen table.  I asked him about that today.  His answer:  "I didn't even notice."
     Does this mean it's normal then for me to speak out to inanimate objects?  Has he become so immune to this type of behavior from me he barely notices?  Perhaps.
     This was only the third turkey I've prepared in my lifetime, you see.  The thing just intimidates me.  I worry it won't be cooked thoroughly.  I worry on how to get it out of the oven when it's done.  I worry over gravy-making, carving, the list goes on and on.
     Let me tell you, though.  When all was said and done yesterday, the meal was great.  Turkey was handled with care, gravy came out fine, even hubby got into the act and did the carving.  My eight guests were pleased and even went so far as to congratulate me on one of the most moist turkeys they had eaten.
     Phew, glad it's all over for now.  Until next year, or next holiday.....Perhaps the ham at Christmastime will hear some entertaining story from me as I prepare it.  At least the cats will be sitting at my feet, waiting for scraps to fall.  Waiting for me to sing some crazy song lovingly to them.