As Gary and I were traveling recently, we listened to a story by David Baldacci, The Whole Truth. We enjoy his recorded books – they are fast moving and always interesting.  One of the characters in this story, Katie, is trying to get information about a blog.  She says something like, “This is not a regular, real blog.  Bloggers blog at any time of the day about anything, all the time.”  I recalled that I once did a blog – but I realized I am not a “real” blogger since life takes over and I don’t blog for LONG periods of time, like 6 months!  I THINK about blog-worthy things but to actually sit and type those thoughts takes a back seat to most other activities.  I don’t even read many blogs – I guess I am stuck in the 20th century and haven’t moved on to the 21st!

As I am writing this, Gary is working on good old Mighty Whitey.  He got the new engine in this afternoon and is now hooking up all that needs to be hooked, and hoping he remembers what those things are. We threw a rod coming home from Indianapolis a few weeks ago, so a new engine was really the only option if we want to keep Mighty Whitey on the road. In van years, she is ancient – 415,000 miles, so she will appreciate a new engine.  We borrowed a friend’s truck to do a BooksBloom seminar in Jeff City the weekend before last, and had to rent a 26 foot Budget truck to drive to Chicago this past weekend.

Our time in Chicago was interesting. I had been asked to speak at a Chicago Non-Sectarian conference. What EXACTLY does THAT mean? It was a challenge to do the talks I do, usually for Christians, in such a way that I was sensitive to the differences of my audience, but didn’t compromise my own beliefs. I was exhausted by the end of the two days! Hopefully I planted some seeds in the loving hearts of parents there and libraries will be started which will inspire and educate these kids. John Taylor Gatto was the featured speaker, and he always stirs the parents to think and plan and nurture their kids.

It was fun to be so close to Chicago since I just finished reading Neta Jackson’s YADA YADA PRAYER GROUP series – all 7 of them. WHAT a challenge they are! They challenge me to be REAL and honest within a group of believers. The examples of praying Scripture are so vibrant – I have been trying to do that more.  They showed me so clearly how a STORY can lead to life changes – attitudes, behaviors, understanding, compassion, and humor.  I LOVE the gals in these stories. In fact, I got SO in to the story that one morning, as I was praying for my friend’s granddaughter, who is pregnant with twins, I thought, “I should pray for Ruth, too,” and then I had to stop and laugh since Ruth is one of the gals in the book!

It is hard to come back to something like this blog.  I was surprised that my last entry was the birth of Tori, back in August.  I didn’t realize it had been that long ago.  We moved to Missouri in September, rented a lovely home that sits high on a ridge, and have been enjoying a Missouri winter which, though cold for Missouri, was NOTHING compared to Minnesota winters! Gary and I are just BooksBloom again, with a full schedule of conferences this Spring and Summer.  Check our website, www. booksbloom.com for the schedule.

So, now you know – I am not a REAL blogger, just someone who occasionally stops to share what’s on my heart!

Jan