Tuesday Tidbits: EEYORE CONDITION

The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7

Eeyore, the gloomy friend of Winnie the Pooh, walked around with his head down. I see Christian walking around with their heads down, complaining about everything that doesn’t matter. Their focus is on what is wrong and what they don’t have instead of what is right and what they do have.

God created you and made you special. He created you like He created nothing else. “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ ” “And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse between waters . . .’ ” “And God said . . .” “And God said . . .” “And God said . . .” “And God said . . .” (Gen. 1) Over and over God spoke creation into existence, but when it came to creating his prize possession, man, He chose to be more involved. He formed man and breathed into him life. Did He have to? No. Could He have spoken man into existence? Yes. But He chose to give man His personal touch.

We are a hands-on project!

God didn’t contract out the work to an angel. He didn’t give the archangel Michael a blueprint and tell him to create man. God didn’t say let man be formed. He formed man and breathed life into him.

Hold your head high. You are a child of The King.

The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. (Deut. 7:6)

Thank You Lord, for making me Your child. Help me to hold my head high and show the world that I am proud of my status as The King’s kid. Amen.

NEW!

THIMBLES AND THREADS: 4 Love Stories Are Quilted Into Broken Lives

Love Stitched into Four Women’s Lives
Enjoy four historical romances that celebrate the arts of sewing and quilting. When four women put needle and thread to fabric, will their talents lead to love? #thimblesandthreadscollection
Click HERE to order yours today.
FREE Preview
#thimblesandthreadscollection
“Bygones” by Mary Davis
Texas, 1884
Drawn to the new orphan boy in town, Tilly Rockford soon became the unfortunate victim of a lot of Orion Dunbar’s mischievous deeds in school. Can Tilly figure out how to truly forgive the one who made her childhood unbearable? Now she doesn’t even know she holds his heart. Can this deviant orphan-train boy turned man make up for the misdeeds of his youth and win Tilly’s heart before another man steals her away?

Other stories in this collection:
“The Bridal Shop” by Grace Hitchcock, “Mending Sarah’s Heart” by Suzanne Norquist, and “Binding Up Wounds” by Liz Tolsma


THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT (Book 2 in the Quilting Circle series)
FREE Preview
Can a patient love win her heart?

As Isabelle Atwood’s romance prospects are turning in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams. While making a quilt for her own hope chest, Isabelle’s half-sister becomes pregnant out of wedlock and Isabelle--always the unfavored daughter--becomes the family sacrifice to save face. Despite gaining the attention of a handsome rancher, her parents are pressuring her to marry a man of their choosing to rescue her sister’s reputation. A third suitor waits silently in the wings, hoping for his own chance at love. Isabelle ends up with three marriage proposals, but this only further confuses her decision.

A handsome rancher, a stranger, and an unseen suitor are all waiting for an answer.  Isabelle loves her sister, but will she really allow herself to be manipulated into a marriage without love? Will Isabelle capitulate and marry the man her parents wish her to, or will she rebel and marry the man they don’t approve of? Or will the man leaving her secret love poems sweep her off her feet?

HEARTBEATS IN TIME – 5 books of Old West Christian Romance (4 novels and 4 novellas) by 7 bestselling, award-winning authors, including my book, The Widow’s Plight. You'll love these 8 unique stories of love! Get it here: https://amzn.to/2VzRBoI

#HeartbeatsInTimeSet

FREE Preview
The Widow’s Plight (Book 1 in the Quilting Circle series) by Mary Davis
A single mother steps out of the shadows of abuse and into the sunshine. But will a secret clouding her past cost her the man she loves?
Finding Love In Last Chance, California by Miralee Ferrell
Dreams of My Heart by Barbara Scott
Hills of Nevermore by Janalyn Voigt
Heart of a Cowboy Novella Collection--four Old West romances by Susan Page Davis, Miralee Ferrell, Yvonne Lehman, and Vickie McDonough

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS s a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her 2018 titles include; "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection (January), Courting Her Amish Heart (March), The Widow’s Plight (July), Courting Her Secret Heart (September), “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection (December), and Courting Her Prodigal Heart (January 2019). Coming in 2019, The Daughter's Predicament (May) and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads (July). She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

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Tuesday Tidbits: A Bit of ROMANCE NOVEL History

If there is a romance gene, I’ve got it. I know romance novels haven’t always had the best reputation, but they are the hottest selling genre, with sales of over a billion dollars annually. So when did this love of romance novels begin?

Before Gutenberg invented the printing press, making romance novels more accessible to the masses, romance stories existed. The ancient Greeks had them as well as many other cultures. The ones that weren’t copied over and over by hand were told by word of mouth and acted out as plays, as were other types of stories. There is a list of over twenty ancient Greek romance novel titles, most are but mere fragments of the original stories. Only five of them have survived in a nearly completed state.

The Native Americans of Mackinac Island, Michigan have a tale about Arch Rock on the Island. 

An Indian maiden was tied to the rock by her father when he forbid her to marry the brave she was in love with. Her tears melted away the gigantic hole in the limestone rock, leaving the arch we see today. Her warrior rescued her and took her with him to his people. Though this story is used to explain a geological formation, it’s interesting that the Native Americans chose to use a romance theme to explain it.

The first recognized modern romance novel is considered to be Pamela or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson in 1740. 

. . . and the first from the woman’s point of view. (Interesting that romance novels before this were from the man’s point of view or probably omniscient point of view.) It was one of the first best-sellers. Go romance!

Then in the early 1800s came Jane Austen and then Charlotte Brontë in the middle of the century. Romance novels became more popular after World War I. Walter Scott developed the popular mass-market version of the historical romance novels which is said to have begun in 1921 with the publication of The Black Moth.

Mills and Boon, British publishers, began publishing hardback romance novels in the 1930s, which were popular across England. In 1957, Harlequin Enterprises, a Canadian company, began releasing Mills and Boon’s category romances in North America. In the 1970s, Harlequin bought Mills and Boon and other companies published romance novels as well that were now being sold in mass-market stores and other places where women shopped like supermarkets.

I think of Grace Livingston Hill (1865-1847) as the forerunner to the current modern-day Inspirational romances, both category and stand-alone. She wrote over 100 novels and short stories. Her published works span from the 1870s until after her death in 1947. Her last novel, Mary Arden, was finished by her daughter Ruth and published in 1948.

Romance novels continued to change and adapt to the market and have continued to sell more and more copies. Romance novels have many, many sub-genres that contribute to the large number of sales. These vast sub-genres enable romance readers to find just the right fit for them.

This reader (and author) is happy romance novels are still going strong.

HAPPY READING!

NEW!

THIMBLES AND THREADS: 4 Love Stories Are Quilted Into Broken Lives

Love Stitched into Four Women’s Lives
Enjoy four historical romances that celebrate the arts of sewing and quilting. When four women put needle and thread to fabric, will their talents lead to love? #thimblesandthreadscollection
Click HERE to order yours today.
FREE Preview
#thimblesandthreadscollection
“Bygones” by Mary Davis
Texas, 1884
Drawn to the new orphan boy in town, Tilly Rockford soon became the unfortunate victim of a lot of Orion Dunbar’s mischievous deeds in school. Can Tilly figure out how to truly forgive the one who made her childhood unbearable? Now she doesn’t even know she holds his heart. Can this deviant orphan-train boy turned man make up for the misdeeds of his youth and win Tilly’s heart before another man steals her away?

Other stories in this collection:
“The Bridal Shop” by Grace Hitchcock, “Mending Sarah’s Heart” by Suzanne Norquist, and “Binding Up Wounds” by Liz Tolsma


THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT (Book 2 in the Quilting Circle series)
FREE Preview
Can a patient love win her heart?

As Isabelle Atwood’s romance prospects are turning in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams. While making a quilt for her own hope chest, Isabelle’s half-sister becomes pregnant out of wedlock and Isabelle--always the unfavored daughter--becomes the family sacrifice to save face. Despite gaining the attention of a handsome rancher, her parents are pressuring her to marry a man of their choosing to rescue her sister’s reputation. A third suitor waits silently in the wings, hoping for his own chance at love. Isabelle ends up with three marriage proposals, but this only further confuses her decision.

A handsome rancher, a stranger, and an unseen suitor are all waiting for an answer.  Isabelle loves her sister, but will she really allow herself to be manipulated into a marriage without love? Will Isabelle capitulate and marry the man her parents wish her to, or will she rebel and marry the man they don’t approve of? Or will the man leaving her secret love poems sweep her off her feet?

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS s a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her 2018 titles include; "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection (January), Courting Her Amish Heart (March), The Widow’s Plight (July), Courting Her Secret Heart (September), “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection (December), and Courting Her Prodigal Heart (January 2019). Coming in 2019, The Daughter's Predicament (May) and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads (July). She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-five years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

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Tuesday Tidbits: THROWING AWAY $$$

I have a problem with paying money for something whose sole purpose is to be thrown away. A great example is trash bags. You buy them just to throw them away. For years, we had these special brackets affixed to the inside of a lower cupboard to hang the plastic grocery bags on, giving the bag I received for free a second life. When we moved nearly three years ago, we’ve been renting and haven’t felt comfortable putting holes in someone else’s cupboard.

More and more towns in the metropolitan area I live in are passing laws to charge for bags either plastic or paper, 5-10 cents. I know it’s not a lot of money, but I’m not thrilled about paying for those ultra-thin plastic bags that have a hole (or three or four) in them before you even leave the store. It’s hard to reuse them with all those holes. Which means, I’m paying money to throw something away that then ends up in a landfill. Argh!

There are people who make all kinds of really neat things out of the plastic grocery bags, like cutting them into strips and crocheting sleeping mats for the homeless to keep them off of the damp ground, or ironing layers of them together to make crafts from the created material. I commend those people for keeping some of the plastic out of landfills and giving them a new life. I have thought about doing these things but have never gotten around to it.

So rather then pay for these flimsy bags, I recycle T-shirts into tote bags. Not only am I not creating a demand for plastic bags, I’m also keeping old T-shirts out of landfills.

Here is a recent post I did on my publisher’s blog about how to make these T-shirt Totes. I’m kind of addicted to making them.

Basically . . .
~Lay the T-shirt flat.
~Cut off the hem.
~Snip from the bottom up 3 inches every inch.
~Tie one strip from the back to the one in front of it into a square knot all the way across the bottom.
~Cut off sleeves along seam on the body potion of the shirt.
~Cut off neck opening.
~And voila, you have a tote.

I have used T-shirts I own, ones I’ve bought at thrift stores for cheap, ones I’ve been gifted, a golf shirt, a lace tank top, Dollar Tree T-shirt. T-shirts can be big or small, plain or with a cool graphic.

When my granddaughter was about three, her favorite character was Hello Kitty. I spent more than an hour going through every piece of children’s clothing at our local thrift store looking for a Hello Kitty T-shirt. Near the end of the last rack, I scored one. I made a tote, put it in the box with a few other things, and shipped it off. I asked my son how she liked it. He said she was confused. She put her arms through the sleeve openings, which were now straps, and tried to wear it like a shirt. I wish I could have seen that. =0)

There are many other ways to reuse and repurpose T-shirts, and I’ll share some I’m doing from time to time.

As I said before, these posts are NOT a crusade to get everyone to produce less trash and do all things eco friendly. I just want to share the small things I’m doing to reduce my trash footprint upon our earth one small step at a time.

This post is my first in a reoccurring topic on my attempts to create less trash and what I’m trying do about it. My plan is to have one post a month about a new way I’m reducing my trash output.

Related post: http://marydavis1.blogspot.com/2019/08/tuesday-tidbits-can-i-recycle-that.html

Have you ever made a T-shirt Tote? Have you made other things out of T-shirts?

NEW!

THIMBLES AND THREADS: 4 Love Stories Are Quilted Into Broken Lives

Love Stitched into Four Women’s Lives
Enjoy four historical romances that celebrate the arts of sewing and quilting. When four women put needle and thread to fabric, will their talents lead to love? #thimblesandthreadscollection
Click HERE to order yours today.
FREE Preview
#thimblesandthreadscollection
“Bygones” by Mary Davis
Texas, 1884
Drawn to the new orphan boy in town, Tilly Rockford soon became the unfortunate victim of a lot of Orion Dunbar’s mischievous deeds in school. Can Tilly figure out how to truly forgive the one who made her childhood unbearable? Now she doesn’t even know she holds his heart. Can this deviant orphan-train boy turned man make up for the misdeeds of his youth and win Tilly’s heart before another man steals her away?

Other stories in this collection:
“The Bridal Shop” by Grace Hitchcock, “Mending Sarah’s Heart” by Suzanne Norquist, and “Binding Up Wounds” by Liz Tolsma


THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT (Book 2 in the Quilting Circle series)
FREE Preview
Can a patient love win her heart?

As Isabelle Atwood’s romance prospects are turning in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams. While making a quilt for her own hope chest, Isabelle’s half-sister becomes pregnant out of wedlock and Isabelle--always the unfavored daughter--becomes the family sacrifice to save face. Despite gaining the attention of a handsome rancher, her parents are pressuring her to marry a man of their choosing to rescue her sister’s reputation. A third suitor waits silently in the wings, hoping for his own chance at love. Isabelle ends up with three marriage proposals, but this only further confuses her decision.

A handsome rancher, a stranger, and an unseen suitor are all waiting for an answer.  Isabelle loves her sister, but will she really allow herself to be manipulated into a marriage without love? Will Isabelle capitulate and marry the man her parents wish her to, or will she rebel and marry the man they don’t approve of? Or will the man leaving her secret love poems sweep her off her feet?

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS s a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her 2018 titles include; "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection (January), Courting Her Amish Heart (March), The Widow’s Plight (July), Courting Her Secret Heart (September), “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection (December), and Courting Her Prodigal Heart (January 2019). Coming in 2019, The Daughter's Predicament (May) and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads (July). She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

Newsletter  Blog   FB  FB Readers Group   Amazon   GoodReads   BookBub