Popinjay--ANGRY

The challenge word issued last week that is "due" today is: ANGRY.

I'm really displeased with myself making these challenges way too...ugh...challenging!

I was sick again this week, not as bad as last, but still sick. I did get out a bit, but nothing struck me as angry. I almost gave up and told you this whole Popinjay thing is stupid and time consuming and and and then I was being stupid.

Then I went back into my brain archives to see if I could pull up anything in my history of photography (ha!) that would represent angry.

St. Augustine, Florida. June 2009.

The first annual Girl's Weekend for some of my life-long buds. The Mission of Nombre de Dios was our first stop. And there was a tornado.

And we were outside for the whole thing in this little cupola. Except it didn't look all bright and sunny and happy. Nope. It looked angry. Very angry. The wind was horizontal and whipping tree branches and debris at us. It was raining so hard we couldn't see more than a few feet in front of us, so leaving the cupola was out of the question. So we huddled under the portrait of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and prayed for our lives.


And prayed.And prayed.And prayed.And Lord did that storm last forever. It got so bad at one point that I called 911. Big help they were. Told us there were tornado warnings all over and we needed to stay put. OUTSIDE. Thanks.

I love chasing storms, but I don't ever want to be in anything like that ever again!

* * *

Next week's word is: PERFECT

You have from now until next Monday to take your photo, post it and you'll be able to link it next Monday. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

* * *

Also, since the words are so challenging for me, I thought I'd give you a head's up on a month's worth of words so that I you can have some more time to get just the right shot.



Week #9--Perfect
Week #10--Frazzled
Week #11--Adorable
Week #12--Lost

pop⋅in⋅jay--noun--a person given to vain, pretentious displays and empty chatter.

In other words, blogging. ;)

Isn't that what this personal blogging is all about? Me. Me. Me. For this photo challenge, that's perfect. We're going to dig inside of ourselves and do some "concept photography."

I'm going to give you a word and you're going to take a photo of something that describes the concept of the word.

• You CANNOT take pictures of your kids or your pets for this challenge. Or anyone else's kids or pets. I know they're precious, but they make your creative bone lazy. Let's get outside of the box. Let's be challenged.

Please leave the link to your post (not the link to your website or blog.) For example:

Right: http://michellependergrass.com/week1_photo

Wrong: http://michellependergrass.com



So--Let's see your photos for ANGRY
Link up and don't forget to visit the other participants!

Jeremy Camp and Compassion International

I've been a Jeremy Camp fan since he was playing crowds of less than 200. He's in Valparaiso tonight and Phil and I are volunteering with Compassion International at the concert.

It was 2 years ago, I believe, that we attended a Jeremy Camp Unplugged concert in Ft. Wayne or South Bend, I think it was Ft. Wayne. I hadn't ever heard of Compassion until the short video was played and packets with children needing sponsorship were passed out to the audience. It wasn't a guilt trip--the children were smiling and the packets gave information on the communities they lived in and personal information and interests.

God worked in his amazing way that night. The packet we were handed was Leslie from Peru and she was just 5 months younger than Zane. I knew that developing a relationship with a child the same age as our child would be a wonderful experience.

Sponsor a Child


Compassion works through the local churches of the communities. You are linked with your child for as long as the need exists. You correspond through letters with your child and the relationship is very personal. I've had nothing but a wonderful experience with Compassion. I love Leslie, I pray for her and her family, and am blessed by her prayers and letters.

I'm praying today that many more children will be sponsored at the Jeremy Camp Unplugged concert tonight. But you don't have to attend a concert to find your child. Please consider finding your child right now? It's $38 a month to provide for your child. Click here to learn more.

Popinjay--CLUELESS

The challenge word issued last week that is "due" today is: CLUELESS.



And I got nothin'

Because I was sick in bed with 102+ fever all week. When I got out of bed, I went to the doctor and he said I had a sinus infection and put me on antibiotics. I'm still not better. Better than I was but not 100%.

So you link up and I'll try to figure out a photo for CLUELESS.

* * *

Next week's word is: ANGRY

You have from now until next Monday to take your photo, post it and you'll be able to link it next Monday. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

* * *

Also, since the word hope was so challenging for me, I thought I'd give you a head's up on a month's worth of words so that I you can have some more time to get just the right shot.


Week #8--Angry
Week #9--Perfect
Week #10--Frazzled
Week #11--

pop⋅in⋅jay--noun--a person given to vain, pretentious displays and empty chatter.

In other words, blogging. ;)

Isn't that what this personal blogging is all about? Me. Me. Me. For this photo challenge, that's perfect. We're going to dig inside of ourselves and do some "concept photography."

I'm going to give you a word and you're going to take a photo of something that describes the concept of the word.

• You CANNOT take pictures of your kids or your pets for this challenge. Or anyone else's kids or pets. I know they're precious, but they make your creative bone lazy. Let's get outside of the box. Let's be challenged.

Please leave the link to your post (not the link to your website or blog.) For example:

Right: http://michellependergrass.com/week1_photo

Wrong: http://michellependergrass.com



So--Let's see your photos for CLUELESS
Link up and don't forget to visit the other participants!

Popinjay--FREE

The challenge word issued last week that is "due" today is: FREE.


Again with the struggle.

Free.

As in free without paying? No cost. Without sacrifice.

Or maybe free as in no boundaries? No rules. No one and nothing holding me back. Able to do as I please.

The creek. Free flowing. But bound by its banks.

A bird. Free as a bird. Flying high, soaring. Bound by gravity.

Me. Free in Christ. My soul full of His love. Bound by spiritual laws until death sets me free.

God.

God is free. No time to reign Him in. Eternity stretched out for eternity. Everything in His hand.

And so how does one photograph God?


Please--pretty please click on the photo to enlarge it.

Phil suggested I get the camera before the icicles fell off the roof. I did. My intent was to capture their odd angles and formations. And so it was. No other objective in sight as I'd already taken a photo earlier of a rainbow on my office wall formed by the glorious sun reflecting off a CD. I was going to write about Noah and the flood and the promise of the rainbow. And stuff.

But I looked at the icicle photos as they came off the camera and I stopped on the one above and I lost my breath for a second. Those sparklies. So so so beautiful.

Did I really take a photo like that?

It's not the most amazing picture ever taken. Certainly, I'm not claiming to have photographed God.

I let go. That's what happened. I let go of words and definitions and expectations and rules and boundaries. I let go of thoughts of what FREE really means to me and let go of wanting to impress you with my interpretation of words.




Letting go.

Free.


* * *

Next week's word is: CLUELESS

You have from now until next Monday to take your photo, post it and you'll be able to link it next Monday. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

* * *

Also, since the word hope was so challenging for me, I thought I'd give you a head's up on a month's worth of words so that I you can have some more time to get just the right shot.


Week #7--Clueless
Week #8--Angry
Week #9--Perfect
Week#10--Frazzled

pop⋅in⋅jay--noun--a person given to vain, pretentious displays and empty chatter.

In other words, blogging. ;)

Isn't that what this personal blogging is all about? Me. Me. Me. For this photo challenge, that's perfect. We're going to dig inside of ourselves and do some "concept photography."

I'm going to give you a word and you're going to take a photo of something that describes the concept of the word.

• You CANNOT take pictures of your kids or your pets for this challenge. Or anyone else's kids or pets. I know they're precious, but they make your creative bone lazy. Let's get outside of the box. Let's be challenged.

Please leave the link to your post (not the link to your website or blog.) For example:

Right: http://michellependergrass.com/week1_photo

Wrong: http://michellependergrass.com



So--Let's see your photos for FREE
Link up and don't forget to visit the other participants!

Visual Prayer--Tears in God's Bottle

Rough days are inevitable. Seems like they come in conjunction with some of the biggest blessings. Which I suppose is par for the course.

What makes rough days worse is stupid people. Or stupid mean people. Or just plain ole people.
It might not be that way for you. I walk a tightrope between introvert and extrovert so while some days being with people energizes me, other days, it exhausts me to a disturbing point.

I continually read on of Oswald Chambers' devotionals about exhaustion. You're doing yourself a huge disservice if you relate to what I'm saying but don't read this. It's short.

I was feeling pressure from so many areas (some of them self-induced) so I decided to take a bath with some lavender bath salts, listen to Jeremy Camp on the iPod dock, and have some quiet time with God. I covered my eyes with a washcloth and asked the Holy Spirit to quiet my soul.

It took awhile. I think my mind naturally resists being still and quiet. The song Letting Go came on and behind my washcloth covered closed eyes, I clearly saw a jar with tears in it.

And I cried.

Then I put on my big girl panties and decided I could trust God to handle these mounting problems of mine. If he could store my tears in a jar, he could certainly take care of some insignificant people that were bothering me. Besides, what they do shouldn't be my concern, right?

I hurried to my easel and painted a jar.

Then I decided I needed to know where that verse was and in what context it was written. Turns out, it was smack in the middle of a Psalm. Psalm 56.


And what a wonderful Psalm it is for someone in the position I had been complaining about being in.

By creating prayer, renewal washed over me.

My spirit calmed and then soared.

The urge to crawl into bed and hide away from the world for weeks on end was gone.

Restored.

Not alone in misery and wandering, but every tear recorded and kept in God's bottle.

Wordless Wednesday--Stone Tree

Head to Relief Journal to write a haiku inspired by this photo!
There are prizes!!

CFBA Featured Book--Hunter's Moon by Don Hoesel

This week's featured CFBA book is Hunter's Moon by Don Hoesel.

Every family has secrets. Few will go as far as the Baxters to keep them. Bestselling novelist CJ Baxter has made a career out of writing hard-hitting stories ripped from his own life. Still there's one story from his past he's never told. One secret that's remained buried for decades. Now, seventeen years after swearing he'd never return, CJ is headed back to Adelia, NY. His life in Tennessee has fallen to pieces, his grandfather is dying, and CJ can no longer run from the past. With Graham Baxter, CJ's brother, running for Senate, a black sheep digging up old family secrets is the last thing the family and campaign can afford. CJ soon discovers that blood may be thicker than water, but it's no match for power and money. There are wounds even time cannot heal.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Hunter's Moon, go here.

Popinjay--BOLD

The challenge word issued last week that is "due" today is: BOLD.



I love my coffee beans fresh ground and BOLD. Enough said!!








* * *

Next week's word is: FREE

You have from now until next Monday to take your photo, post it and you'll be able to link it next Monday. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

* * *

Also, since the word hope was so challenging for me, I thought I'd give you a head's up on a month's worth of words so that I you can have some more time to get just the right shot.


Week #6--Free
Week #7--Clueless
Week #8--Angry
Week #9--Perfect

pop⋅in⋅jay--noun--a person given to vain, pretentious displays and empty chatter.

In other words, blogging. ;)

Isn't that what this personal blogging is all about? Me. Me. Me. For this photo challenge, that's perfect. We're going to dig inside of ourselves and do some "concept photography."

I'm going to give you a word and you're going to take a photo of something that describes the concept of the word.

• You CANNOT take pictures of your kids or your pets for this challenge. Or anyone else's kids or pets. I know they're precious, but they make your creative bone lazy. Let's get outside of the box. Let's be challenged.

Please leave the link to your post (not the link to your website or blog.) For example:

Right: http://michellependergrass.com/week1_photo

Wrong: http://michellependergrass.com



So--Let's see your photos for BOLD
Link up and don't forget to visit the other participants!

Giveaway--Chocolate Cheerios!TIME'S UP!

I apologize for drawing the winner late! I had it in my head that the contest ended today (Sunday) but I was wrong!!

Congrats to Toni!!! * * *

Wow.

Seriously.

I am addicted. And I gave my sister a taste and so is she. And so is my son, Zane. And my nephews, Aiden and Clayton.

Chocolate Cheerios have soared to the top and are in my top 3 favorite cold cereals.

They're not too chocolaty. They're just right. I honestly couldn't think of a way to improve them. They're perfect.

And we all know the benefits of eating breakfast, right?

Did you know General Mills announced a commitment to further reduce sugar in cereals advertised to kids under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving.

The company has already been reducing sugar in cereals while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grain.

Which makes them awesome in my book!

A few other interesting tidbits:

• Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children’s diets.


• Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child’s diet today.


• More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures.

Here's a coupon for you for $1 off General Mills cereal. (hint-hint: If you hit your brower's back button after you print once, you should be able to print it more than once.)


And there's more!!

Win this prize pack from General Mills!!

To Enter:
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me whether or not you'd like to try Chocolate Cheerios.

For extra entries:

1. Follow me on Twitter.

2. Follow this blog.

3. Twitter this:

Win a Chocolate Cheerios Prize Pack from @michpendergrass! http://bit.ly/bUEzjJ #giveaway

4. You may Twitter that statement daily for extra entries.

Be sure to come back and add another comment on this post for every extra entry.



One winner will be drawn using random.org on Friday February 12th.
*US addresses only, please.






Thanks to General Mills, Cheerios, and MyBlogSpark for all the goodies!

CFBA Feature Book

This week CFBA's featured Book is Beguiled by Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand.

And today--you get a treat. A rare review!

I'm not fond of most Christian fiction on the market (how many times have I said that?) So, there were a couple factors leading to my decision to read and review Beguiled.

First, back in the day when the CFBA was first formed, Deeanne's book A Bride Most Begrudging was featured. Historical romance. Not my type of book. I read it, though, and found Deanne's style of storytelling quite enjoyable. And I liked the book. (Seriously, I was amazed I liked something in a genre completely opposite of what I'd normally read.)

Second, Mark is a friend of mine and I know his writing is nothing short of stellar. Mark was Relief Journal's first fiction editor. He was published in the first Midnight Diner.

Third, Dave Long is their editor. I've sang the praises of books he's edited in the past.

When I heard Deeanne and Mark were collaborating, I honestly looked forward to reading the finished product.

Beguiled is a sassy, flirty, sexy romantic suspense that is not cliché, eye-rolling, or nauseous. It might get off to a bit of a slow start, which isn't a bad thing, but it picks up pace rather nicely. Beguiled is very well balanced. Just enough fluffy-girly stuff (overdo that and I'm putting the book down) and just enough creepy, menacing, dark alley, bad guy smoking a cigar stuff. Well, maybe I could have stood more dark story aspect, but there wasn't a lack of it.

Things I didn't like? Maybe the main character's breath caught one to many times. Maybe there was a red herring that was pretty obvious.

The story was absolutely unique. I loved the setting--Charleston. I loved that as a reader, I felt like I was really in Charleston. The conflict--internal and external--in the story was well done. All in all, it was a very enjoyable read.

One of my favorite scenes:

Without giving the story away...two of the main characters had been separated for a time and not all was peachy-keen. There was a lot of tension built up between them. And I found this little gem:

Her earbuds were in, and she gave no sign of recognition. As they drew closer, he expected her to pass him by. At the last minute, she gave the leash a graceful tug, then circled to a halt in front of him.

"I've got have a mind to sic my dog on you--for old time's sake," she said.

"I've got half a mind to let you."

She jutted out her bottom lip. He was tempted to snare it in his teeth.

Totally. Sexy.

My source tells me one of the authors picked that scene as favorite, also. :)


And here's a cute YouTube video of Mark and Dee where Mark talks about his dress for RWA...

Sweetbird SweetUp and Twitter Party

Sweetbird is one cool little dude.

As you can see, he likes to surf but I don't think he surfed here from the UK.

He owes two pair of shoes but only one sock.

He has issues with flying (but we don't talk about it.)




He's making his debut appearance in the US! He's a busy little bird this coming weekend.

He'll be in Nashville, TN on February 4th and in Valparaiso, Indiana February 6th.

It's a SweetUp!! Be one of the first in the US to meet Sweetbird! Meet us at Uptown Cafe in Valparaiso at 6pm for an exclusive tasting of Sweetbird products and lots of giveaways.

It's a Twitter party, too!! If you don't live near Nashville or Valparaiso, join us on Twitter Saturday February 6th at 6pm central time. Use the Hashtag #SweetbirdUSA.

There will be prizes both online and at Uptown Cafe!!

RSVP here in the comments. We'd love to have see you at Uptown or talk with you on Twitter!!


Sweetbird is Vegan and Vegetarian certified. No high fructose corn syrup. Non-GMO. Nothing but natural!!! How very refreshing.



Some tips:

Follow SweetbirdUSA on Twitter.

Follow UptownCafe on Twitter.

Follow me on Twitter.