Loretta, A Super Prayer Warrior

Prayer becomes more meaningful as we counsel with the Lord in all of our doings, as we express heartfelt gratitude, and as we pray for others. (David A. Bednar)


Do you have a special prayer warrior in your church? One of those people you better not ask to pray for something you want unless you're really sure you want the prayer answered because it will be. We have a prayer warrior like that in our little country church. Loretta is an example of faithfulness and love. 

We went to her house tonight to help her celebrate her 99th birthday that is coming up next week. At her age, you can celebrate every day for a month if you want to. Loretta told us she has been a member of our church for seventy-five years. She gave her life to Christ as a young teen before she married at age sixteen. She and her husband, who died several years ago at age 96, moved their membership to our church when they bought a farm in the neighborhood. She said they used to go all around the area and gather up children to bring to Bible School. Recently, she had been going through some of her things and found the worker certificates she received for working in Bible School in 1957 and 1960. She'd kept them all these years and had them to show us tonight.  

Another thing she has kept all these years is her devotion to the Lord. Every day she reads His word. Every day she prays for her family and friends and for her church. Every day she thanks the Lord for His blessings. Even on the hard days. 

This week is a good time to visit Loretta. To rejoice with her in a life well lived. She is the mother of five, the grandmother of many and yet she makes time to pray for the others in her church family. A true prayer warrior. 

As you read or listen to God's Word and spend time talking to Him in prayer, your spirit will eventually become stronger than your flesh. (Joyce Meyer)

That's where Loretta is now. Strong of spirit and not as strong of body anymore. But she's still remembering that the "knee" is an important part of the church family when it's bent in prayer. Proverbs 31 could be written about Loretta. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates. (Proverbs 31:31)

I have been so blessed by Loretta's prayers for me. Do you know someone like Loretta? 

Almost 98 Years Young

Our church went to visit a very special member tonight. Loretta will be 98 next month. We were a little early with her birthday cake, but she didn't mind. She was quick to tell us the age on the cake was wrong. She was proud to claim that extra year even if it is a few weeks until her birthday. 

Loretta is an amazing woman. If her picture were in a church annual with Biblical descriptions, beside her picture would be all the good fruits of the spirit, faithfulness, kindness, love, joy, peace, patience and goodness. And on top of all that, she remembers everything about the old days and about the new days too. 

She's had some rough spots in her nearly 98 years. One of the roughest was losing her husband a few years ago after 76 years of marriage. But she soldiered on then and continues on today. Still living in her own house. Still cooking and cleaning for herself. Still sewing. She just made new cushion covers for her kitchen chairs and a new valance for her window. This is after having carpal tunnel surgery in December. At the danger of repeating myself, there is only one word for Loretta - amazing. 

But maybe the very best way to describe Loretta is to say that she is a prayer warrior who walks daily with the Lord. She reads her Bible through every year and prays for her family and for her church family too. She's one of those people you'd best not ask to pray for something unless you're sure you really want it to happen. 

A few years back, her youngest son found out he had a brain tumor. The doctors were not optimistic, but he was because he knew he had his mama lifting him up to the Lord. When the doctors were giving him only a short time to live, he told them, "You don't know my mother." And they didn't, but the Lord sure does. It's been several years since Joe's diagnosis and his journey hasn't been easy, but he's still on it. He's gotten to see his son graduate from high school. He's gotten to hold his grandchild and he gets to keep hugging his mama's neck. What a treasure she is to her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and even a few great great grandchildren. And what a treasure she is to her church family and to me!

We love you, Loretta! You have blessed us with your prayers and your love, and we thank God for your example of faithfulness. 
 
Thanks for reading!
 

A Giveaway to Celebrate Summer of Joy

Celebration time! 

For a writer, there's not much more exciting than seeing a new book coming out for readers - even when that new book is simply one dressed up in a new cover. With the re-release of Summer of Joy, in a few weeks, my Heart of Hollyhill books will once more all be in print again and inviting readers to come back to the Sixties to visit Jocie and her family and friends.

Joy in the Journey
Some of you might remember the Sixties. Some of you might be too young for that. But isn't it great that books can take us to other times and places and let us experience "joy in the journey?" 

Life is a journey and you can travel through a year of life in Hollyhill with Jocie. Secrets are uncovered. Strangers show up. Joy is awakened. Troubles come. Love conquers. Life happens in this Small Town, America story. 

Celebration Prizes

And so I'm celebrating by having a giveaway with a few fun prizes. First prize winner will get that cute charm bracelet that Jocie might have picked out for you along with an autographed set of the Hollyhill books that includes Scent of Lilacs, Orchard of Hope and Summer of Joy. Second prize winner also wins a set of the Hollyhill books along with the ring dish with the bicycle and Joy in the Journey saying. (Jocie loves the bicycle.) And then there is the drawing for those of you who say you "never win." That prize is a box of chocolates and the winner's choice of one of my books. I've only gotten a couple of never win entries. Everybody must either be winners or on a diet! So be sure to tell me you've never won if you want to be in that drawing. And if you already have the Heart of Hollyhill books, it's fun to win books for a reading friend or perhaps your church library.

I also invited entrants to share a Valentine story of love. You don't have to tell a story to enter. You just have to send me a message at annhgabhart(at)yahoo(dot)com or leave a comment here (with a way to contact you) on my blog before midnight EST February 28, 2014. People who comment here will get one entry in the drawing for the prizes listed above, but I'll have a special extra drawing for my blog commenters with two winners getting their choice of one of my books. Each comment on a new post here on One Writer's Journal before the deadline will get you an extra entry in the blog drawing. I do appreciate those of you who drop by to visit me here. And of course, feel free to leave those Valentine stories. 

A Valentine Story 
Here's a cute story I received after I sent out news of the contest in my newsletter last week. R.M. said, "Back in 2001, one of my coworkers came in the office where I was working and said someone was there to see me. I was excited! Whoo hoo!! Flowers for Valentine's Day! Nope, lo and behold, a Barbershop Quartet!! Right there in the main corridor. They handed me a long stem red rose and sang "Let Me Call You Sweetheart"!!!!! That was the best Valentine's Day ever. Love was in the air!!!!
    Now, today I am picking up balloons as I already have the heart-shaped cake and cookies to have my granddaughters over for a Valentine's Day Party!!! Love is still in the air!!!"

I love R.M.'s enthusiasm for Valentine's Day love. Love is in the air in Summer of Joy too. So share some love whether about romantic love, family love or even the fun of all those little Valentines given away at school parties across the nation. "Be Mine, Valentine." "Yours till Ivory Soap Sinks." "Roses are red. Violets are blue. Sugar is sweet and so are you." What silly Valentine rhymes do you remember?  

Next Time
If you don't get my newsletter and would like to, be sure to let me know or sign up here on my FB author page. And come back Wednesday night or Thursday. Over on my Facebook author page, I'm getting suggestions for naming my heroine's dog in my work in progress. So far 89 different names have been suggested. I'll share those results next time on One Writer's Journal. 


Thanks for the Prayers
Last, but certainly not least, I very much appreciate all your prayers and concern for my mother. We had a rough week with taking her to the facility Monday and then spending a night in the ER after she fell on Wednesday, but today she seemed to be settling in. She even told one of the aides that we were her daughters and she knew my sister's name. Prayers are powerful and I thank you that you're willing to plug into that power for my mom. 

Christmas at Harmony Hill Celebration Giveaway

I sent out a newsletter Sunday. If you're on my newsletter list you already know about my new celebration giveaway, but if you're not, you can find out about it here. 

I'm celebrating my birthday and the September release of Christmas at Harmony Hill by giving away some prizes. The book is in stores and available online. I do hope you will enjoy the story when you get a chance to read it. Back to the giveaway. For the prizes, I picked Shaker Christmas decorations - what else? 1st prize is the "Hands to Work; Heart to God" ornament and one of my books (winner's choice). 2nd prize is the mini-quilt hanging with embroidered Christmas trees (13.5" by 16") & a copy of one of my books. (Again winner's choice.) 

Then my "never win" prize for those of you who say you never win is a lovely book about tea, a Melody Carlson Christmas book and a copy of one of my books. To enter you can e-mail me from my website or leave a comment here with a way to contact you if you happen to be one of the lucky winners. Remember to tell me if you're one of those "never win" people. I know the feeling. Deadline for entering is midnight EST September 30, 2013. Contest open to residents of the United States and Canada and those 18 or over.

For fun, you can share a favorite birthday memory and in the weeks ahead, I'll share a few of them forward if you give permission. I've got some good birthday memories to share too. While I may not enjoy counting up my birthdays, I still love having them. The last few years I've had to celebrate my birthday at the National Quartet Convention. At least my husband has plenty of booths to look for a last minute present for me. One birthday, a few years ago, he bought me presents at a truck stop on the way home from one of the Patriots' concerts. Actually, I really liked the t-shirt with Labrador dogs on it. And the truck stop sack made good wrapping paper too. LOL. 

I've already gotten a lot of neat birthday memories from those of you who get my newsletter. Some of the stories have made me smile. Some have made tears pop up in my eyes. Here's one of the smiling memories from Sandi. 

My best birthday memory is when I was soon to be 17.  My birthday is in July and I was working as a waitress the summer before my senior year.  I'd had a horrendous day at work and wanted to go home and go to bed--or hide under the bed or just die (teenagers are sooo dramatic). My two best friends showed up just as I got home and they insisted that I go "out" with them. I refused to clean up or put on new make-up--I had cried on the walk home and I looked rather dreadful, but after much coaxing (and threatening from my mom who had joined the discussion for some reason), I decided to join them. My friend Ruth said she had to stop at her boyfriend's house to pick up something and I assured her I'd be the one in the car..."Jim" came to the door and insisted I come inside. I was pretty worn down by then so I went in...surprise--all of my best friends and some I didn't even like were inside and they all screamed "happy birthday" in unison. Fortunately, my mom had packed a bag with make-up and fresh clothes in it and had secretly given it to one of the girls. 

And now we hear from Donna about how we can't know what tomorrow holds, but we can cherish the good times we have with family. 

My best birthday had to be two years ago. My family (daughter, son-in-law and 2 grandkids) were away on a camping trip on my birthday. My sister ... invited me and my boyfriend over to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. Unknown to me, it was not only my brother-in-law's party but one for me too. Out came a separate cake for me with candles, and they all sang Happy Birthday, and even had presents. My sister had invited her kids and grandkids to this party and it was a wonderful, birthday surprise for me. Little did we know that a year later my sister would be fighting for her life battling cancer. She's had surgery, radiation and is doing better.  So, thank you Big Sister, for everything.  I love you. 

Donna's sister's name is Diane, so if you have a minute, whisper a prayer her way. I do so appreciate all the prayers you've whispered my way and my mother's way as her dementia steadily worsens. Prayers are powerful. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you'll join in with my giveaway fun and come back for more stories in the weeks ahead. And if you don't get my newsletter and would like to, just let me know.

When Things Go Wrong

Some days are harder than other days. Some days we get up and whatever can go wrong seems to be in a hurry to head down that road. I had one of those afternoons last week. A day when everything seemed to pile on. I had a lot to do. Words for the new story weren't exactly spilling out. The new room was sounding good, but promising extra work. Other extra chores showing up.

Time seemed to be in very short supply even though I knew the days all still had the same amount of hours and minutes. But how was I going to fit everything into those hours and minutes? Especially with the hours I was going to be spending at Mom's. And then my dog, Oscar, didn't get out of the way of one of the workers building our new room. The truck ran over his leg and broke it. I was sitting with Mom when the call came, but I couldn't leave to see about him. Mom can't be alone. So I had to wait until my husband could go home to check on him a couple of hours later. Then he was off to the vet's where Oscar has been ever since in the doggie hospital after surgery on his back leg.

It was frustrating to not be able to go see if Oscar was all right. I know he's only a dog, but he's my dog and a very good dog at that. But then the afternoon just got worse with a call that a dear friend of my sister's had died suddenly. Amelia was a beautiful lady that we will all miss. Perhaps Mom sensed my upset because she became agitated and determined to go home to her childhood home because "her mother expected her." She didn't know who I was and said I was definitely "not her daughter." She had to be married to have daughters. Meanwhile my daughter was on the way home for a visit for the first time since Christmas, and I was anxious to be at home to see her. Things went from bad to worse on my stress meter when Mom's night sitter didn't show up due to a mix-up. And I didn't have her telephone number.

A bad afternoon. But you know, everybody has those kinds of days. And when I stopped having my "pity party" I knew I had plenty of blessings to count, among them that Oscar most likely will be okay, although perhaps with a bum leg. Mom settled down and remembered I was her daughter the next day. My daughter made it home safely. I have more weeks to try to find the right words for my story. My grandchildren are beautiful and healthy. I have friends who love me enough to pray for my mother, for my sister's friend's family, and even for my sweet dog. Prayer makes a difference when you're having a bad day and makes good days better.

 

And Mom had a birthday yesterday that turned into a pretty good day for her. She was 93. Sometimes she even realizes that, but most of the time she isn't happy to hear that number. She used to tell us all the time that she wanted to live to be 100, but she never imagined having dementia that was going to steal the joy out of those 100 years. But she did have some joy on her birthday. She got roses from a dear friend. She got hugs from some of her great grandchildren. She got flowers and presents and cards from us. I fixed her an Angel food cake with strawberries and she gave all the strawberries off her plate to the littlest great granddaughter who loves strawberries. We also had chocolate pie that my daughter and I made from my mother's recipe. It was okay, but it wasn't as good as Mom's used to be.

 

But some of her family was able to come and share a little time with her. While they were here, she was almost like her old self. Loving the kids. Laughing when somebody was talking to her. Blowing out the two candles on her cake. Looking at her presents and cards that were new over and over since she didn't remember looking at them before. A good afternoon for her and an answer to prayer.

 

So thank you for reading about my bad day and my good day. Please remember Amelia's family in your prayers. Their bad day is ongoing for they will be missing their mother and grandmother and wife for a long time as many of you are still missing your grandmothers. I do have a few more grandmother stories I'm going to share in the days to come. And I'd still love to hear yours if you want to share a story. The contest for the Grandmother's Bible is still open, so pitch your name in my hat for the drawing if you haven't already. Just leave a comment on this blog or on Jocie's blog or send me an e-mail from my website.  

The Saddest Times of Dementia

This is my beautiful mother enjoying her grandchildren forty years ago. At the time, she was younger than I am now and a very loving grandmother. The grandkids thought she was the best. She let them stand at the sink and wash dishes. She pretended to let them help her make doughnuts. She played Rummy with them and didn't always let them win. She had three more grandchildren after this picture was taken and loved them all as only grandmothers can. A good love. A "I believe in you" love. A "you can do anything you set your mind on" kind of love and support. That's a grandmother's job. To spoil a little. To love a lot. And to think grandbaby hugs are a gift without price.

But now she has dementia. Dementia is the name for a group of symptoms caused by disorders that affect the brain. One place I looked said that one out of five people 80 and older have dementia. Then it went on to say that although elderly people suffer from dementia, it is not a normal process of aging. And yet, normal or not, it happens. People with dementia may not be able to think well enough to do things like getting dressed or eating. They may lose their ability to solve problems or control their emotions. Their personalities may change. They may become agitated or see things that are not there. Some of those things have happened to my mother.

Of all the things that do happen to a person with dementia, the worst is the agitation and unhappiness. Not all people who suffer dementia have the uneasy and sometime angry agitation, but many of them do. My husband's mother did not. My mother does. She does so want to "go home." Back to her childhood home. A house that is long gone. And then at other times, she simply wants her husband to show up. He was here just this morning, she'll say, but he didn't tell her where he was going. But a husband is supposed to be with his wife.  Or she saw him in town before she came to the house here. None of that has happened. Nor are there children in the house, but sometimes she needs to go home to see about the kids.

All that is sad. But the saddest thing is how she's forgotten her family. At least the family still living. She hasn't forgotten her parents and sisters who have passed, most years and years ago. She knows them in photos and doesn't seem to have a problem jumping from very old photos to newer ones. The ones she doesn't know are her children and grandchildren. Most of the time she knows me. Most of the time. But sometimes she wants to know where "the other Ann" is. Then there was the day I looked at a picture of her and her grandchildren taken three or four years ago and she knew herself but not them. I'd tell her their names and she'd smile as if remembering a grandkid hug.  But by the time we got to the last person in the picture, she was asking about the first one again. She does seem to remember the old pictures a little better. Or maybe baby pictures simply take her back to a better time and make her happier.

That day with the memories of her grandchildren buried deep under her dementia and no way to bring them back was a saddest day. For her and for me. I look out into the future and think of perhaps someday losing the precious memory of my own children and their children if my mind fades like mother's has. A saddest thought and one there's no reason to dwell upon. We can't predict who will suffer from dementia and who won't. We can hope for better treatments.

Right now, the only "treatment" that seems to help Mom is prayer. I appreciate all my friends who pray for her. My own prayer is that she will have peaceful days as we take it one day at a time, sometimes one hour at a time and try to make it through each of those worst times back to the not as bad times. The times when she's almost her old self and seems to remember the kids and their families. That day we were looking at their pictures, she kept wishing to see them. Whether she can remember their visits or not, she wants those times. As for me, I want to treasure the memories I have right now since none of us can know what tomorrow might bring.

On a happier note, the e-book version of  Words Spoken True is available for the low price of $2.99 on Kindle and Nook and $2.39 for e-readers on Christianbook.com. A great chance for you to give that book a try if you haven't read it. It's not free, but pretty cheap. It is a limited time offer so don't wait too long to check it out if you're interested. Also I'm getting ready to send out a newsletter tomorrow with a new giveaway to celebrate Scent of Lilacs being back in print with a new cover. Fun happenings. If you don't get the newsletter, I'll let you know about the giveaway on Wednesday - if I don't forget it's Wednesday the way I did last week. But I made up for it on Thursday. Or sign up for the newsletter on my website.

Thanks for reading. And remember you have three more chances to throw your name in the hat to perhaps win a copy of Scent of Lilacs. Leave a comment on this post or on Wednesday's post or on Jocie's blog tomorrow night and get another entry.

I Didn't Win

I didn't win the award for best Christian Fiction novel of 2009. :( Actually I didn't expect to win, but then when they were announcing the winners at the banquet last Thursday night about five minutes before they were ready to announce the fiction winner, I got to thinking, you know, it would be nice to win. And what if I do? I better think about what I might say up there on the stage. I had already told a couple of people who had asked if I had an acceptance speech all written out that I was just going to say "I'm speechless." Which would have certainly been true. Amazed, too. But then I didn't have to be speechless or amazed because Susan Meissner's book, The Shape of Mercy was the winner. She gave a nice speech and obviously wasn't "speechless." And I was a little disappointed. Especially the next day when her book had that beautiful gold medallion already added to the copies on display.

I talked with Susan and she's a wonderful writer and person. I had no trouble being happy for her. I grabbed a copy of her book, unsigned unfortunately, but maybe I'll put it in one of my book giveaways this summer. I'm going to draw for the winner of my current contest tonight. I'll be sending out a newsletter to my friends and readers - and that's not and/or. If you are reading my books, I think we're friends. Anyway I'll be letting everyone know who the lucky winner is in the newsletter first and then I'll post it here on Wednesday night. I mean somebody needs to be a winner this weekend since I didn't quite make it.

Still as I told my church family this morning when they were assuring me that I was a winner to them, I did feel like a winner just being in the top five. Plus seeing The Outsider on April's Christian Book Association bestseller list is another winning moment. Having so many friends pulling for me was definitely the best winning moment.

Darrell and I had fun in Dallas. I got to meet a lot of great writers, and even better, now I can put faces with some of the people I work with at Baker Publishing. It was a good two or three days. Those pilots had no trouble at all navigating the skies. That must have been all of your prayers giving us smooth air. And no telling how many other blessings the pilots got just because you guys were all praying for them coming and going. I know I was mightily blessed. I even looked not too bad in the outfit I bought last week. My hair wasn't perfect, but you can't have everything. I did manage to wear heels and keep my earrings on for the whole evening. That was the first time I've worn earrings since my oldest son got married some 16 years ago. I even wore them to church this morning just to prove to everybody that I had earrings. Some of them didn't recognize me. ;)

I'm off now to hear the Patriots sing in Mercer County tonight. They'll be in Pennsylvania next Friday night and then in northeastern Kentucky at Mayfield and Ashland on Sunday. I'm staying home. I need to get back to work on that stubborn third Shaker novel. One of the writers I met said she loved to write on her laptop in the car. I'm sure someone else was driving her to important appointments and booksignings. Me, I'd just get car sick. But I do love to write. Even when the words aren't coming easy. Writing is what I do.

Hope you are having a good weekend. The weather is gorgeous here in Kentucky today and if you don't want to go outside, you've got ballgames to watch. I love the tournament, but I've missed most of it this year. So did my team, unfortunately. UK fans are not happy campers, but maybe a beautiful spring day like today will get us smiling again.

Thanks again for your good wishes and prayers. Wish I could have won for you.

Texas Here I Come

Hi everybody. Tomorrow's the big day. I'm getting on that airplane and flying to Texas. I've already asked my church family for prayers for the airplane and the pilot. I'm n-n-not really a n-n-n-ervous flyer. Honest. I mean I've already been on two airplane trips. That makes me practically an experienced traveler, doesn't it? But prayers always help. No matter how you're traveling or what you're doing. I don't think there's a greater gift you can give a person than to say a prayer for them. And you've always heard it's more blessed to give than receive, so here's your chance to be blessed and my chance and that pilot's chance to be blessed by your prayers.

I am excited about being at the Christian Book Expo. This is something I've never done before. I've been to book fairs and such, but never to a big event celebrating writers and books. I can't wait to meet all those famous writers that up until now have merely been names on books. Max Lucado is one of them. If any of you want to read a devotional book that helps you feel as if you're basking in the love of the Lord, try one of his. No frowns in his books as he encourages us to live the Lord's way. I'll have to buy something from him to get his autograph if he's signing books at the Expo. Of course the line will probably be two miles long, so I might not be willing to wait that long. As for when I sign my book, I'm just hoping there will be somebody, anybody in line.

I did get some good news about The Outsider. I guess I should say additional good news since the Book Award nomination was definitely already good news. Anyway, The Outsider is number thirteen on the CBA (Christian Book Association) Fiction Bestseller list for April. Reader response to that story just keeps astounding me.

How do you like my picture here on the blog? That's the same one the CBE lifted off my website to post on their website alongside all the professional photos. One of my Sunday School kids took the snapshot of me when we were hiking down at Panther Rock. Me and the kids always have a great time down at the creek, so if I look like I'm having fun, then that's because I was. Plus it looks as if I had somehow managed to stay away from all the splashing - at least up until then.

Susie, my webmaster, has been helping me with posting pictures and my book cover on the blog since my dial up connection usually times out before I can get the process figured out. Or maybe it's my brain that times out.

Hope that doesn't happen in Texas. I'll be sure to let you know how things come out when I get home this weekend. And thanks for the blessing of those prayers.