I am always looking for the next thing.  

What I'm reading:  Through Gates of Splendor, by Elizabeth Elliot. This book has been on my list for a long time, so I was delighted when I found it waiting for me on my shelf recently.   It is the story of four missionaries (one being the author's husband) who lost their lives at the hands of "a Stone Age tribe they were trying to befriend and protect".  I just finished a little yellow book called Walking His Trail.  As the title implies, the book is full of stories of miracles ("God-incidences"} from Steve Saint's life before and since his young father's death.  Steve Saint went on to assist with a movie about the missionaries, At the End of the Spear, which is on my watch list.  It was only natural to start on Gates of Splendor next. 

What I'm writing:  My first book is called Launch: Preparing Your Kids for Takeoff.  You can order it below or contact me and I will be happy to send a signed copy.   Currently I am trying to get on as a curriculum writer with Word of Life. I'll let you know how that goes.  And I am constantly writing devotionals. My next book is about 1/3 complete.  It is a love letter to caregivers, of which I was one for eleven years.  As a mom of ten, I am no wimp, but caregiving took me to the brink. I am writing The Mom Dot Diaries: The Caregiver's Journey, to keep caregivers calm, to keep them company, to keep them away from the brink.  

What I'm ruminating on.  Mentoring is on my mind, as I recently realized I would not be the mom I am today if I hadn't sat under my mentor, Jean Stockdale (jeanstockdale.com) for eight years.  Today's moms need more encouragement than ever.  What am I going to do about that?  Keep writing and speaking, of course.  My guest appearance on the Mom Material podcast, which will air soon, resulted in a monthly mom chat. Please join us for our next Nest Night on Wednesday, July 31, as we talk about how to discipline our kids.  Look for link below a few days before.  And I am so thrilled to be speaking at Silver Bay YMCA camp on Lake George, NY, several times this summer: July 5 10:00 Raising Independent Kids in a Culture that Cripples; July 8 Pacing Yourself for the Marathon of Motherhood: Finding Life-Work Balance as  a Mom of 10; July 24 2:00 Filling the Fruit Bowl in Your Soul: A Talk on the Fruit of the Spirit;  August 12 10:00 How to Break Into Print