Wow! I was so blessed by all of your emails to me about reading the Bible through last year. What a joy to know so many people are in the Word.
Of course, some of you read it slower, in smaller chunks, and that’s totally fine, and some of you copy it out by hand, which I love!
And some of you said 2023 is your year! You’ve got a plan and you’ve gotten started reading. I’m so excited and happy for you! You’ll have to check in with me over the course of this year. I just read about the Tower of Bable and about Jared who raised Enoch, ‘and Enoch walked with God, and was not, for God took him.’ Can you imagine being so close to God, walking so near to Him that He decides you don’t have to die, but He would simply take you to glory? Can you imagine what kind of father Jared must have been to raise such a son? Yeah, I might have thought about that verse a few times over the years as I was raising my own children.
There are so many benefits to reading the Bible. But I won’t go into those today, although I’m thinking about a devotion for Sunday.
I hope you all have slid into the New Year in a great and exciting way. I’m excited about what God has in store for me this year. I’ve made plans and resolutions, but I know to expect the unexpected, too. : )
Things have been pretty quiet on the farm. I am working on a project that I’m going to talk about in here soon, but not yet. Also, Pie took a pretty big hit for me (she’s still black and blue, but not limping anymore) and I’d like to tell that story, but not today. I’ve been a little dizzy lately and I might talk about that in the Chat on Sunday. We’ll see.
In the meantime, I have a few more questions you all sent in. I’ve really enjoyed reading them and laughing over some. Some of them have made me think – someone asked what was the hardest book for me to write. I’m still thinking about that one, so I’m not answering it today, but I do have three more.
Here they are:
Is there any way to differentiate your book series in the media? So many of the books have cowboys in the title, it gets confusing when trying to read or listen in the correct order. The books Baxter boys and Blueberry Beach set are easy to find but the cowboy books are hard to keep straight. I love all your books and have found myself turning to your books now instead of other love novels. When a sweet, modest and morally uplifting book is available, one begins to search out these books. The graphic nature of so many books now, yours are a breath of fresh air and uplifting for the soul.
Thanks! I’m so glad you are enjoying my books and the books of other sweet romance and Christian authors!
I have a handly sheet on my website HERE that will help you keep things straight. You can print it off and check off the books as you read them.
You can also visit THIS PAGE on my website to see the all the books in the different series with their covers and links to Amazon. If you’re visual, that should help.
Not really a question – just wanted you to know what a blessing you have been to me this year! Happy New Year!
Aww! Sweet! Thanks so much. : )
I know Julia designs your covers but are any of your children interested in writing a book?
That’s a great question! The short answer is no. The slightly longer answer is that my amazing daughter-in-law, whom I love with all my heart, is a talented artist, and we have talked about writing a children’s book or series together. As you all probably know, so much of the story in a children’s book is told through the pictures, so finding a great illustrator is essential.
We’d thought about telling the story through the eyes of CJ and TJ, my two bottle calves who took over my newsletter not that long ago. : )
She’s busy with her two small children and being a wife and helping in the trucking companies up in PA, so whether we’ll ever get a book written and illustrated is not a sure thing, but it’s definitley something I’d love to do.
I saw your picture in the Reader Chat. You look too young to have six kids and grand kids! and be a farmer and all the things you do. How do you look so good?
Ha. I laughed at this question. I suppose I’m the same as everyone else and when I look in the mirror, I see all my flaws and imperfections.
This reminds me of a story. When my oldest son was a young teen, he had a business for a while of raising dairy beef and selling them. He got the day-old bull calves pretty cheap from a big dairy down the road. It was owned by a man and his three sons, who were about my age. It was close to us, but in a different county, so, while I knew their names, I wouldn’t recognize them, and I suppose it was the same for them with me.
When my son was ready to buy newborn calves, he’d call and make an appointment to go over.
Usually he dealt with a hired guy, but on this day, he said the hired guys were busy and one of the owners were going to meet him at the calf barn.
My son had his learner’s permit, so he drove and I sat in the passenger seat. He got out and talked to the owner, (and I stayed in the car – he was only 16, but it was his money and his business, and I didn’t butt in unless he asked for me). After a bit, my son came over to my window and said, “I’d like for you to get out and look at these. I’m not sure what to think about this one.”
So, I got out, and the owner kind of stood back, took one look, then didn’t really act like he wanted to talk, so I slipped through the fence and stood with my son, looking and talking about the calves.
He decided he was going to take them, and he just called over his shoulder to the owner, “I’m gonna go ahead and get them all. My mom will write you out a check.” (Our bank wouldn’t allow my son to have a checking account of his own until he had a driver’s license for ID, so his money was in an account in my name.)
The owner said, “What? That’s your mom? I thought that was your girlfriend. Oh.” And his face got all red and he kind of stumbled around a bit before he came over with his hand out. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…”
That’s not the first time people thought I was my son’s girlfriend, and for some reason, I always thought it was a lot funnier than he did. lol But, I never really thought it was because of the way I looked. I always figured it was just odd that my boys talked to me and seemed to like me okay, and that’s not really the way normal teens usually act with their mom.
Thanks so much for spending time with me today!
Hugs and love,
~Jessie❤️