The Holiday Craze Begins

It's the Friday before Thanksgiving--and judging by my schedule you might think it was Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It's just crazy around here! Sending the kids off with a crockpot full of mashed potatoes (just like the ones my hubby brought to his staff lunch yesterday), then we're off to MOPS, which we must leave early in order to get to one son's school for Thanksgiving lunch. Time might permit a visit to the other son's school for his lunch. Then it's off to buy a birthday present for a friend, jump into the carpool line, and sometime around dinner drop one child off at a slumber party.

Whew!

Who gave moms the "stay at home" title???

Anyway, Lord willing and the creek don't rise (it has been storming since 3a.m.) we should survive the chaos and collapse happily into our chairs tonight, looking forward to a week off work and school. And carpool.

In the meantime, my latest book release has just been posted on The Fish. If you like Patricia Cornwell's forensic mystery series, check out my perspective on the newest one, The Scarpetta Factor.

And coming soon--within a week or two, I'd guess--look for my review of Anne Rice's latest offering, Angel Time.

Feeling Prolific

Life is seemingly productive around here. I've shared links to my latest book reviews (just scroll to my most recent posts), and I've got (at least) two more reviews lined up for November. My interview with an Israeli grad of DTS will appear in the upcoming issue of Kindred Spirit (it's coming soon--I just proofed the final draft). Today I received my copy of my latest project to be published: Insight's Old Testament Handbook.

And, oh yeah, I'm six months pregnant. With my fourth child.

Prolific indeed.

The Old Testament Handbook is a resource, meant to be used by anyone reading any part of the OT. Each chapter gives historical background, introduces major themes and characters, and explains the significance of that particular OT book. Insight for Living, the teaching ministry of Chuck Swindoll (former president of my alma mater, Dallas Seminary, and longtime pastor), produced and published this manual as part of their collection of biblical handbooks.

I'm one of two writers--we split the material and I took the first 19 books, which are mostly history and law. I also wrote an appendix explaining the Apocrypha. The actual writing took place back in February and March, when I spent eight weeks immersed in this project. So really, I haven't thought about this project much since before summer, but here it is to enjoy and share.

Want to check it out? Click here!

And as for that other ongoing project, I'm headed for my OB checkup on Friday :).

James Explores Justice and Truth in The Knight

Read my review of The Knight, a psychological murder mystery by Steven James, published by Baker.

If you are into whodunits that explore justice and truth while spinning a darn good story, grab a copy

for yourself!

A Review of Nicholas Sparks' Newest Release

For those who love a good cry, be sure to pick up the latest Sparks novel,

The Last Song. As I posted on Facebook a few days ago, each of his novels

should come with an attached tissue pocket inside the back cover!

I reviewed the book for the new web site "The Fish"--a sister site to

Crosswalk.com and Christianity.com that studies pop culture from

a Christian perspective. It covers music, books, movies, and more.

You can find my review here. Happy reading!

MOPS Convention Recap

Rather than retype, I'll just link. Go to Stitches for a short overview of my weekend at the MOPS convention. Super fun...

These are my roomies: Melissa, Stephanie, (me), and Susie.

Faith and Love Go Together

It's my turn at Tapestry today. Click on over to read my thoughts on how Ruth and Boaz demonstrate Love--and not the sort you're probably thinking.

Hubble Reveals More of God's Creative Power

This is one of many fantastic images released this week from NASA, taken by the newly refurbished Hubble Telescope. Click on the link below to enjoy all of them. And revel in your Creator's awe-inspiring creativity.

Spectacular New Images From the Hubble Telescope - FOXNews.com