Month: July 2014

Christian Horror Writer: Frank Peretti

Aynaria 3 Comments

Since I was a young child, I’ve been a huge fan of horror books. I consumed my first book, The Shining by Stephen King, when I was eight years old, but the books that I’ve read that were written by Christians were slim. The Last Sin Eater is one of those books. To be honest, I didn’t know a “Christian writer” wrote it at the time. I just knew the writer had a fairly good grasp of Christianity and did an excellent job of weaving in some of the beliefs into the book. It wasn’t until a few days ago that I discovered the writer is a Christian.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how “good” a Christian writer within this genre could do. If you think about it, it’s not that big of a stretch, The Exorcist, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Legion, Constantine, Fallen, The Rite, are just a few that have strong Christian themes and they have done very well.

This past Friday evening, I did a web search, and was pleasantly surprised to find horror books written by Christians! I checked out a few of the authors via the reviews on Amazon and promptly ordered  four books based on the “Look Inside” feature offered by Amazon. Three of the books I purchased were by the author Frank Peretti.

The Oath - Frank Peretti

This past Friday, the first virtual book I started reading was The Oath by Frank Peretti. Frank Peretti is a “new to me” author. I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the ebook (562 pages). Peretti reminds me of Grisham in that there are so many crucial elements that are woven into this story; I enjoyed it immensely. I’m a fast reader and I devoured that book by within a few days (finished on Sunday).

The Visitation - Frank Perretti

Yesterday, I started reading The Visitation, which is also by Frank Peretti. I’ve only read a few pages, but am really enjoying it thus far. I will say that if you did not “know” that Frank Peretti was Christian, you might not know that he was Christian but you would know there was a Christian theme within the book.

I must say that I’m pleased to learn that a few of Frank Peretti’s books have been made into movies. Earlier today, I ordered his movie “The Visitation”. I won’t watch the movie until I finish the book. I should be finished reading before the weekend.

I will say that I was pleasantly surprised to see that Edward Furlong and Randy Travis are in the movie. I can’t wait to see it, based on the reviews I should enjoy it immensely.

Juicing Adventures: Let food be thy medicine…

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“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

― Hippocrates

I imagine that many people don’t think of “medicine” as being a good thing. But I do consider my food to be my “medicine”.  I mainly consume whole foods, which means I eat as close to the foods natural source as possible. It also means, that whenever possible I choose food that is free of chemicals.

Earlier today I turned this produce

Produce for Juicing
Produce fresh from our garden!

into this…

Produce from Juice

Of course,  some of the juice went into my daughters thermos today. It is her last day of Art Camp.
Juicing - Thermos

I juice in the morning. At that time, I make enough to last me the entire day.

Juicing adventures: Mixed Punch

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A few days ago, I made the drink, that I’ve included below, for my daughter.

Results? She loved it a lot. She told me it reminded her of a fruit punch, but with veggies. I think it’s the lovely color of the beets that make her think of some type of  punch.

Apples,carrots and beets

My daughter loved it so much that she politely asked me if I could add some to her lunch  thermos. She’s attending Art Camp this week.

Juicing adventures: Mixed Punch
Recipe Type: Juicing
Author: Opal
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
A mix of sweet vegetables and apples combine to make an sweet “mixed punch”.
Ingredients
  • 12 Medium sized apples
  • 4 large beets
  • 1 pound of carrots
  • 3 medium lemons (don’t remove the skin)
Instructions
  1. Cut produce in appropriate size pieces and feed into juicer
  2. Add to jar
  3. Shake and enjoy

 

Candida and Hives

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It seems that candida has been on it’s “last legs” for quite some time. The majority of the  symptoms have diminished; constipation and awakening earlier than my normal time. I’m usually awake between 3:30 and 4:00 a.m. I will say that other symptoms (from candida die-off) have reared it’s annoying head.

Because some of the things I’m going to write about might be a bit TMI (too much information) for some, I’ll insert a “More” tag and pick up the discussion after the break, ok?

Read More

I survived my daughter’s first sleepover!

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SleepoverWith a title like that you would think the sleepover was at our house, but it wasn’t. This past Friday, my daughter had her first sleepover at O’s house;  one of her best friends.

I’m very particular about who my daughter hangs out with and there’s no way she’s sleeping over anyone’s house unless I know the parents well. There’s too many bad things that can happen for me to be slacking on that. My daughter, and her friend, have known each other since kindergarten and I know the parents fairly well. I knew my daughter was in good hands.

Her parents took them to watch Independence Day fireworks in downtown Baltimore. They were being set off at the Inner Harbor. O’s dad is a Board member for an organization and they always have something on Independence Day. Because of  O’s dads hookup, they were in a prime location with all sorts of goodies and entertainment.

You want to know something? It’s the first time my daughter and me have been separated for a night and it felt… strange!

My daughter and her friend stayed up past 12:00 a.m. I know this because my daughter texted me via Apple’s  iMessage to see if  I was awake. No, I wasn’t awake. I went to bed shortly after she texted me (around 10:30 p.m.) to tell me that they had arrived back at her friends house safely. Hey, it’s a mommy’s job to make sure her child is ok. 😉

I will say that I did get a lot accomplished while she was gone. A lot of cleaning was accomplished! I wound up the evening watching Lord of the Rings (for the umpteenth time) while knitting.  The next morning I was able to go to the gym without having to have someone watch my daughter. My daughter is 11 years old. She does not stay home by herself.

The choice is yours…

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Throughout life, you’ll encounter people who tell you that you can’t accomplish ______. Since I’m stubborn, I’ve never listened and have followed my own path. Many times, I proved those naysayers wrong.

 

Your mind is powerful. You can have it working for or against you. The choice is yours…

Never underestimate what you can accomplish when you believe in yourself.