Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns
If you think Jesus would have come into your home that day and not issued a strong rebuke to the head of household, you are mistaken. These words of condemnation have been haunting me for days now. They aren’t all that different than the soundtrack I play in my head on an almost-daily basis. It’s…
I am nesting. On Saturday I emptied the refrigerator. Last summer’s homemade pickles in their jars. The bread ends that seem to multiply on every shelf. The eggs. The milk. The fruit and veggies. All of it sat on the floor or the counter as I carefully removed the shelves and wiped them down with…
I’ve heard that life is like a highway. And it definitely seems like that sometimes. The pace of life swirls around me at dizzying speeds. We’re all so busy. In such a hurry. Always somewhere to be, something else to do. I’m a get-to-the-point, get-there-quick kind of girl. I don’t like to waste time on…
Welcome to the late edition of Saturday smiles. It is NOT Saturday, though maybe if you had today off for Columbus Day, it might feel like a Saturday. We can pretend, if you want to. Actually, my husband is on break from school, so today definitely doesn’t feel like Monday to me. He’s usually in class. Tonight he’s home.
Anyway, I had a previously scheduled blog for Saturday (Book review of Kathi Macias’ A Christmas Journey Home, if you’re interested and you missed it.) and we planned a family day, so I postponed this week’s list of things that make me smile till now. I hope you don’t mind.
It’s mostly visual this week, although that’s hard for a writer. I’ll try to stay out of it. Mostly what made me smile this week was my kids. Isabelle using big words like “situation” and “frust-er-ated” (how she says it) and earning a Mommy-Daughter Date for having 5 days in row with no potty accidents. Corban saying “please, Mommy” followed by any request up to a trip to the moon. He asks so sweetly, I’d give him anything.
And moments like these.
Here, kitty kitty. Kitty (whose name is Buddy. Neighbors named him, not us.) wants no part of the kids. But it still makes me smile.
And I spent most of Saturday smiling because of this:
Our kids’ first tractor-pulled ride to the pumpkin patch to pick out their own pumpkins. Corban is a little concerned here because the tractor, which he couldn’t wait for, was a little noisier than he thought and the ride was bumpy. Isabelle is already plotting her strategy, I think. Pumpkin picking is serious business.
I had no idea, until this happened:
“Oh, it’s a baby one. I have to watch over it.” She found this pumpkin seconds after we got off the trailer. And we had to gently persuade her to pick out another, bigger, pumpkin. She’s turning into quite the little mommy. We also picked out a family of gourds to help her watch over this little one. We probably could have walked away from the pumpkin patch with $5 worth of tiny gourds, but Phil and I insisted on at least one big, orange pumpkin. Creative persuasion for the sake of tradition, if you will.
Corban helped us out, finally picking out one with his trademark overexcited “ooooo.” That, in itself, makes me smile. No matter what he’s “oooo”ing at.
Here he is helping Daddy make the final cut.
Of course, the best smile-maker of all, we saved for the end of the day.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.
Two days later, this still makes me smile. And that’s what I’m appreciating about this weekly exercise. I find myself reflecting throughout the week about what makes me happy. What makes me smile. And what makes me downright laugh out loud.
What’s got you smiling this week?
When I think “good Christmas story,” illegal immigration is not the first thing that comes to mind.
And that is one of the traits I have come to love about author Kathi Macias. In her recent release A Christmas Journey Home, Macias tells a story of a young Mexican couple, expecting a baby, who enter the United States illegally in search of a better life. They have left their crime-ridden border town with almost nothing and their struggle to survive in the Arizona desert is heartbreaking and overwhelming at times. I found myself skimming over some scenes because I thought I might cry and never stop if I let myself dwell on them. It is a story of loss and hope; survival and freedom.
But it’s not their story alone. A Christmas Journey Home also follows a young widow’s path through grief. Her husband, a border patrol agent, is killed in the line of duty, fueling her anger and hatred toward illegal immigrants. With the help of her 6-year-old son and God-ordained circumstances, this young woman faces what she fears most.
Watch the trailer for a glimpse of the struggle the characters face.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeI-m0X2Osw]
It’s not a feel-good holiday story in the traditional sense, yet it doesn’t leave readers without hope. Macias is a master at shedding light on dark subjects (read my review of her Islam-focused novel, People of the Book, here. And stay tuned for a review of another upcoming release that centers on sex trafficking.) and A Christmas Journey Home follows suit. While immigration is a controversial and political subject, I appreciated Macias’ heart on the subject. When the elderly Mexican grandfather wonders, “Was it wrong to try to save a life when doing so involved breaking the law?”, I found myself re-evaluating my own beliefs. The book offers no easy answers. It is, after all, a work of fiction. But it is thought-provoking and makes the personal side of illegal immigration — that there are actual, real-life people involved in the issue, each with their own stories — hard to ignore.
Macias has another winner with A Christmas Journey Home. I can’t wait to read more.
Hear from Macias in her own words about the book, writing and future projects in the interview that follows.
How did you come up with the idea for A Christmas Journey Home?
I knew I wanted to do a Christmas book—the first of what would become an annual event that my publisher and I were discussing—and I also knew that despite the lighter tone required in a Christmas book (as opposed to the darker themes of the persecuted Church and human trafficking, which I’ve been writing about), I had to stick to my “brand” as closely as possible: hence, an “issues-related” Christmas novel, dealing with the issues related to illegal immigration.
What was your favorite scene to write in A Christmas Journey Home?
I loved writing this entire book, and the characters are delightful (except the villains, of course!), so I loved almost all the scenes. But I think I liked the scenes with Isabella’s old abuelo best, as the grandfather reminded me of my own grandpa and even my dad, both of whom I loved dearly. I love incorporating at least one elderly saint in each of my books, and in this one I decided on a man since most of the other books have had women as the elderly, praying characters. I also brought in a little boy because children can add such a delightful element to any story, and six-year-old Davey certainly does that in A Christmas Journey Home.
What was the most difficult scene, and why?
The toughest scene had to be when Francisco and Isabella thought they were finally on the verge of being able to get away from the migrant camp and find a small home of their own, where their baby could be born in relative comfort and safety. If you’ve read the book, you know that isn’t at all what happens. But this heartbreaking scene had to take place to bring the story to its miraculous conclusion.
What is there about you, apart from writing, that many people don’t know?
First, my “road name” is “Easy Writer” because my husband and I were Harley riders for many years. (We’ve traded the bike in on a 2005 Corvette, so I’m still “Easy Writer” but in comfort now!) Also, I served on staff at a large Southern California church for several years, training small group leaders and doing biblical counseling, among other things.
Who are some of your favorite writers, and are you an avid reader?
Absolutely I’m an avid reader! I have always loved books/reading/words and been fascinated by them. When I ran out of books as I child, I started writing my own. (Voila! Look what came of that!) As for favorite writers, that’s tough, but here are just a few: Brock and Bodie Thoene, Francine Rivers, Patti Lacy, Athol Dickson, Jim Rubart, and Alan Paton, who wrote my favorite all-time fiction book, Cry the Beloved Country. That book changed my life and inspired my novel set in South Africa in 1989, No Greater Love. I also enjoy reading Brennan Manning, Jennifer Kennedy Dean, Oswald Chambers, and Max Lucado for nonfiction.
What’s on the horizon for you now, so far as future book projects?
I am currently finishing up the final book of the three-installment Freedom series (Deliver Me From Evil, Special Delivery, and The Deliverer). Then I will jump into my Christmas 2012 novel (working title is A Home For Christmas) and a novel called Last Chance for Justice, which is part of the multi-author Bloomfield Series with another publisher. After that I hope to get going on a new fiction series, which is still in the discussion/planning stages with my publisher and agent. So life is busy, but most contracts coming my way seem to be fiction right now. I am also keeping busy with very occasional editing projects and some speaking/teaching around the country.
Where can we find out more about you, The Freedom Series, and keep up with your to-be-released books?
Please feel free to visit my website at www.KathiMacias.com.
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I was given a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for posting the author’s interview on my blog. This blog tour is managed by Christian Speakers Services (ChristianSpeakersServices.com).