Dear Friends, It’s been a while since I posted a book review, so I hope you enjoy this one. I know so many authors and others in the publishing industry that I stopped posting reviews on bookseller sites a while ago, but I still review books occasionally on my blog. I also post “Words with Friends” interviews so you can get to know the books and authors I love. I haven’t met Jolene Philo, the author of The Caregiver’s Notebook: An Organizational Tool and Support to Help You Care for Others (Discovery House, 2014) personally, but she and I both belong to AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) and the Christian Authors Network. The title and concept of her book intrigued me, and I was delighted to take a closer look. Chances are that if you’re an adult in 2015, you are or you know someone (probably more than one someone) who serves as a caregiver. With the graying of America come additional responsibilities to care for a parent(s), spouse, disabled child, or others who need special assistance because of physical and/or mental disabilities. And that means you know someone who needs this book. In The Caregiver’s Notebook, Jolene Philo does an amazing job of pulling together resources, records, and refreshment in the form of multiple ideas for caregivers in one compact place. The spiral-bound book (it lies flat–an asset when filling out pages) has fifteen tabs, including “Contacts,’ “Calendar,” “Medications,” “Insurance Information,” and “Routines and Schedules,” among others. Although I’m not a caregiver at present, I watched my mother serve as my father’s caregiver for several years, and I have had several friends in this situation. Since caregivers’ lives are already so full, I understand the need to collect and organize much of the information related to caregiving in one easy-access place. Each tabbed section begins with instructions (sometimes short, sometimes longer) about how to use the pages that follow. Also included are tips from fellow caregivers, Scripture verses and other inspirational quotes, and small but vital takeaway points labeled as “Stress Relievers.” As you can tell, Jolene knows the needs of caregivers well. In fact, I believe the author herself is the book’s greatest asset. The wisdom gained from her many years of  past and present caregiving experience both informed and inspired this valuable tool. One concern I have with the book is its small size (approximately 6.5 x 9.5”). Although convenient, its compact nature left me wondering about storage for the many additional medical and other forms that seem to accompany caregiving. However, the book’s final section provides potential assistance. It highlights another website of hers, which includes links to organizational resources, downloadable forms, and other helps for caregivers. That...

Dear Friend, Did you miss me? I’ve been out and about lately, first speaking/serving as chaplain at the Florida Christian Writers Conference and then catching up on some writing and speaking. Thanks for your patience. Today, I want to send you over to the Christian Authors Network blog, where I’ve posted this interview with my friend, author and speaker Janet Perez Eckles. I know you’ll enjoy getting to know this delightful friend as much as I have! This Saturday morning, I’ll speak for the Women’s Spring Brunch at Asbury United Methodist Church, 220 W. Horatio Avenue in Maitland, Florida, at 10:30 a.m. If you live in the area, feel free to come join us. You don’t need to bring anything except yourself, and I know we’ll have a wonderful time with food, fellowship, and learning about “Sister Act: Mary, Martha, and the Love of a...

Dear Friends, I’m writing about something close to my heart today. I guess that applies to many of my blogs, but I leave tomorrow for the Florida Christian Writers Conference. I don’t have far to travel this time, because the conference home is the beautiful Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center in Leesburg, Florida, which is probably half an hour from my home. This will be my fifth year attending the conference, fourth year on faculty, and third year serving as conference chaplain. What does a chaplain for this type of conference do? I can think of several important functions. These include monitoring the spiritual climate of the conference; forming and updating a team of intercessors to pray for faculty, staff, and conferees; and sharing devotionals and prayers as needed for the large-group meetings. But still another important aspect of the chaplain role is something in which I take great delight, and that’s meeting personally with conferees. In the past, I enjoyed having appointments primarily as the representative for Sisterhood magazine, which sadly ceased publication at the end of 2014. But I also met, and continue to meet, with conferees in my role as author, collaborative writer, and editor (in addition to my five years’ of work for Sisterhood, I have written eight nonfiction books, seven of them traditionally published; hundreds of articles and devotionals; and various projects for two nonprofits). I love using the lessons God’s taught me along my writing journey to assist and encourage others. And that’s what I do at the other conferences where I teach as well. This year, I want to place special emphasis on meeting with conferees in my role as FCWC chaplain. So why might you want to meet with me? Answers: Perhaps you need direction about with whom you should make appointments or which workshops to attend. Maybe you have a big (or small) decision to make based on conference feedback. I don’t know everything or everyone, but I do have some good industry and conference experience. I’ll be glad to answer questions or point you in the direction of a better resource here at the FCWC or elsewhere. Encouragement: Sometimes hearing the truth, even when spoken in love, can feel discouraging. I’ll be glad to listen, love, and (yes) pray with you. No matter how professional we are, we can all benefit from a healthy diet of encouraging words. And as my husband likes to say, “No one ever died from over-encouragement.” Prayer: I don’t make it a secret that I’m a knee in the body of Christ. It’s how He has gifted and equipped me. That doesn’t mean I have special prayer-power others don’t. But it does mean praying is my joy, my...

Dear Friend, “Stop playing games.” We hear it so often it’s become cliché. But when people manipulate rules, rhetoric, and relationships, it doesn’t feel cliché, does it? Game-playing hurts. It wounds those deceived by the game. It harms those in any of the circles touched by the game. And of course, it hurts the game-player, too. Today’s prayer addresses this problem. As you read it, please know I’m praying for you or those you know who find themselves in this situation, intentionally or not. Lord of life and truth, I come to you today concerned about those who play games. I know about games because I’ve played them myself. I’ve acted like someone I’m not. I’ve used words to impress or deceive. I’ve even—at times—used you, or what people perceived as my relationship with you. So first, forgive me, Lord. Forgive me for the times I’ve been less than honest. Forgive me for putting my own reputation above yours. Forgive me for manipulating the scene or situation to make myself appear to be someone I’m not. And Lord, for those trapped in game-playing, please tear down the tiles. Take away their pieces. Throw the board in the air. Do whatever it takes, God, to cancel the game and the steps and schemes it includes. Bind the enemy and the shadows his involvement adds. I ask, Oh God, that you bring your truth, your light, your healing into this game-playing web of destruction. Let your Word have prominence and your truth pre-eminence. Cast down strongholds. Lift up the weak, the fallen, the scheming. And amidst it all, reveal your glory. We praise you, our Lord, for you are a mighty king. You are a sovereign master. You triumph over every lofty thing and lift up every low one as you choose. Thank you for hearing our cries and for stopping the game-players before they pass Go, before they collect $200. Thanks for your simple, sufficient love. In your name I pray—AMEN. Do you know someone caught in the deception of game-playing? Or do you find yourself in this snare? Feel free to share your prayer request here, on Facebook, or through the email link at the top of the page. Please know you’re on my heart and in my prayers as always. For His glory,  ...

Dear Friend, How can I ever find enough time to pray? I’ve shared some of my initial thoughts in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. But today, it’s time to share a secret that’s not. I call it a secret because most people don’t seem to know about it. But it’s not a secret because I find evidence of it throughout the Bible. Here it is, written out as today’s PrayerKeeper tip: Prayer is both a relationship and an activity. Think about it. We speak about prayer as though it’s something we do, an activity. I pray. You pray. We both want to pray more. But a while back, when I was answering the “How do I find time to pray?” question for myself, I kept seeing verses that told me prayer had to be more than something I did. How could I possibly “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17) or “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18a)? I realized the only way this could happen was if prayer was more than something I did. Prayer, then, must be a part of my ongoing, continual, always-happening relationship with God. Prayer is not just what I do, but a part of who I am. One of my favorite small books, The Practice of the Presence of God shares the wisdom of Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth-century monk. The book shares how this simple man of God  learned to increase his awareness of his heavenly Father while engaged in the everyday chores of cooking and cleaning. Over the years, I’ve asked God to help me have the type of relationship with Him that keeps me more and more aware of His presence. And as I become more and more aware of Him, I interact with Him more and more. Who can have a relationship without communication? The marriages I know that lack communication become the ones that falter and fail. When a parent-child relationship takes a wrong direction, the problem can often be traced back to a lack of appropriate communication. If you hope to improve your prayer life, ask God to help you grow in awareness of His presence. As you grow in knowing Him, you’ll grow in talking to Him, too. Prayer will become less and less an activity and more and more a lifestyle. Have you thought of prayer more as a relationship or an activity? Have you tried practicing His presence? Let me know. If you’d like to leave a comment or prayer request, feel free to do so below, on Facebook or through the email link at the top of the page. For His glory,...

Dear Friend, When I asked you to share with me what you would like to read in these posts, one thing you didn’t mention was prayers. No one said they’d love to see a prayer about this topic, that topic, or, in fact, any topic at all. However, when I review my blog’s history, the most popular and consistently viewed posts are (you guessed it) prayers. “Prayer for Family Healing” has multiple views every day. Other popular posts include “Prayer for Those Who Need a New Attitude” and “Prayer for Those Who Feel Betrayed.” (Search the “Pray” Posts in the blog archive if you’d like to find more prayers like these.) Because those statistics mean real people with real needs, I’ve decided to keep posting prayers–real prayers–every so often. Today’s came because on my morning prayerwalk, I was climbing one of the larger hills in our not-very-hilly subdivision when an SUV whizzed past me. Of course I don’t know its speed, but I do know it was traveling much faster than it should have been for neighborhood driving. Shocked at first, God reminded me of all the times I’ve buzzed past a person or a situation without taking time to consider the need. To slow down. To pray. Our Father, Thanks for stopping me mid-stride and turning my irritation into a prayer. Thanks for reminding me to slow down. Help each of us take time out for moments like this. Train our eyes to look beyond the speeding vehicle, the harried sales desk, the anxiety-filled waiting room. Train our hearts to see the people inside and to lift them before you. Help us also to see ourselves and our moments or season of hurry. Give us that longed-for refreshment from your Word and by your Spirit that whispers, “Peace, be still.” Push us from the rush of routine, remove us from the blast of obligation, keep us from the flash of folly and pull our hearts close to yours. If we don’t slow down, we won’t hear the whispers. And if we don’t hear the whispers, we’ll miss you. In your holy name, AMEN.   For His glory,  Marti Do you have a prayer request that pertains to the need to slow down? Post it in the comments here, on social media, or email me through the link at the top of this page. It will be my joy and privilege to lift you before...