Rita Gerlach's Christmas cookie recipe!

This is one of my favorite cookie recipes at Christmastime. I've made them for as long as I can remember. They were a big hit with my boys when they were little, and remain a family tradition to this day. Use your favorite cookie cutters. You can decorate them with sprinkles or ice them when they are cool. A tip to adding sprinkles is to brush the cookies with a bit of water and then add the candies. This recipe can be used for any holiday.Christmas Shortbread Cookies

3 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

Mix these together in a bowl and set aside

2 sticks of butter softened.

1 cup of sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon of your favorite extract. (I prefer almond.)

First, using an electric mixer, blend the butter until very smooth and creamy. Then add the sugar gradually...egg, and then extract.Add the flour mixture slowly. You can refrigerate the dough to make it easier to roll out.Tip: To roll out the dough, lay a piece of wax paper on a counter top or table. Place some dough on it, then another sheet of wax paper. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin. Cut into shapes and lift carefully off the wax paper. Place on cookie sheets. Add sprinkles.Bake at 32510-12 minutesCool on a baking rack before decorating with icing.

Rita Gerlach lives with her husband and two sons in a historical town in central Maryland, nestled along the Catoctin Mountains, amid Civil War battlefields and Revolutionary War outposts. Her newest novel, Surrender the Wind, has received four stars from Romantic Times Magazine, and has been heralded by readers and book clubs as a page-turner, and one of the best historicals they've read this year.

Rita's Website: http://ritagerlach.com/
An inspirational historical romance makes a great gift. Best price of the year for Surrender the Wind.
$7.76
http://www.buy.com/prod/surrender-the-wind/q/loc/106/211018427.html

Stop trying and start being!

During this time of year families who don't often spend a great deal of time together otherwise due to distance, buisness, or preference, join together to celebrate Christmas and New Years. Most of us have family members who don't know God. I know, I do! As my family descends upon my home for feasting and fun, I find myself often getting stressed. Since I don't see some of my family very often, I feel like this is an opportunity for me to put my Christianity on display in all its glory! Surely my family and friends will see the glow on my face, the peace radiated from my eyes, and how I have nothing but a kind word for everyone.

Surely they will ask me the cause of my utter bliss. Then they will sit in rapt attention at my feet while I share the gospel with them. Then, as the evening winds down and the candles burn low, they will give their lives to God.

Sounds like a dream? Well, it is. One of those illusive dreams that is always outside my reach.

But more often than not, nobody even notices anything different about me. Nobody asks me why I'm so peaceful or what the secret to my happy life is. More often than not, I get flustered and snap at someone or make some sarcastic comment. I try so hard to be the perfect example of Jesus. I try so hard, I walk around tense check every word I say before it leaves my mouth. But as each year passes, I realize that my plan isn't working.

Do you ever feel like that? You try and try so hard to be a good witness, to be such a good Christian, but nobody seems to notice and nothing ever changes.

Well, God spoke very clearly to me the other day. He told me to stop trying and start 'being'.

The truth of the matter is, in our own power, we can never be like Jesus. We can try all we want, but we will always just be our fallen selves. The only way to be like Jesus is to spend time with Him and lots of it!. I'm not talking a few mintues in the morning and a few minutes while you're driving to work or school. I'm talking an all-day, minute by minute relationship.

The more time you spend with Jesus, the more like Him you will become. Without even knowing it, He will change you from the inside out. He will make you uniquely you and yet so much like Him that other people can't help but notice. Then when we spend time with lost friends or relatives, we don't need to try anymore. We don't need to watch our mouths or check our frustration levels or worry about saying all the right words and taking advantage of every opportunity. We need only be ourselves. Because if we've been hanging out with Jesus, then ourselves will be like Him.

Remember the disciples, Peter and John? They spent 24-7 with the Lord for 3 years. Guess what the Pharisees said to them in Acts 4:13

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus..

Spend time with the Lord. Talk to Him all day long. Include Him in every decision, every frustration, every conversation and maybe just maybe this Christmas someone will take note of you--that you have been with Jesus.

The Raven Saint hero - Captain Rafe Dubois

The winner from last week's drawing is Ashley Davis!!! Congratulations, Ashley, please send me your email address and/or your mailing address so I can send you the book.

This week, let's take an in-depth look at the hero in The Raven Saint, Captain Rafe Dubois.

Brief Description: Tall, well-built with jet black hair and dark, smoky eyes, Rafe Dubois has no trouble attracting les femmes. That is, until he comes across Mademoiselle Grace Westcott. The son of Henri Dubois, a rich planter on the French island of Saint Dominique, Rafe, at age 26, has already amassed a fortune of his own by hiring himself and his ragtag crew out as mercenaries to the highest bidder—performing whatever dirty deed is required of them, without question. But Rafe has an oddity that baffles both his men and Mademoiselle Grace. Instead of spending his wealth on himself, he gives most of it away to the poor and sick in Port-aux-Paix, his home town. In fact, it is his ultimate goal to build a hospital in the poverty-stricken port for those who cannot afford quality care. In truth, Rafe wants nothing more than to infuriate his father, a man who mistreated Rafe from birth and who committed the ultimate act of betrayal against his own son. I picture Rafe looking a lot like Orlando Bloom in the pirate movies. :-)

Strengths: Protective, Smart, Leader, Good heart, Intuitive, Risk taker
Weaknesses: Bitter, Arrogant, Rebellious, Loves Praise, Pessimist, Bad Temper

Inspiration: Rafe is the ultimate Bad Boy. And I love writing the bad boy! He’s rude, extremely macho, and arrogant. Yet he is a true leader, a commander who inspires others to follow him. He walks on the wild side and has a dangerous look about him. But inside, he’s a wounded warrior with a heart of gold. I think this is my favorite type of hero to write because bad boys are so deep, so passionate, and there’s a lot of stuff going on beneath the surface. Rafe has lived a lifetime of abuse and neglect. Those he trusted and loved the most stabbed him in the back. Consequently, he hates God and hates women. He has no self value, so he searches for it in the praises of others. Pretending to be altruistic, he is only satisfying his need for value and for revenge against his father—a father who has an outward appearance of piety that disgusts Rafe. Can you imagine the fireworks that are set off when Rafe meets the pious Grace Westcott?

If you would like to be entered in the drawing for The Raven Saint this week, please leave a comment about this post. (And don't forget to leave your email address--I had two people last week who left me no name and no way to contact them) If you entered last week, please enter again as I'm not going to bring those comments forward.

Thanks everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

I'm in heaven

Reversal of Fortune

I'm going through a study of the book of Esther by Beth Moore at my church. I don't believe it's a coincidence that this study became available just as I was beginning a new 3 book series on destiny. In God's Kingdom, there are no coincidences.

Esther is a story of a woman whom God chose to fulfill a great destiny. She came from lowly beginnings, an orphan, a Jew, a nobody to become Queen of Persia. Yet that wasn't her ultimate destiny. It was merely the means to achieve her destiny--which was to save her people from complete annihilation.

One thing Beth mentioned in the study is how there are moments in each of our lives, pivot points, where God does what she calls a reversal of fortune or a reversal of destiny. These moments or events can appear to our human eyes as extremely insignificant. But how we react to them and what follows has enormous consequences.

The cool thing is the Bible is full of examples of how God does this

Abraham was a nobody from Haran. God made him the father of a nation.

Joseph was a slave and a prisoner. God made him 2nd only to Pharaoh

Moses was insecure and stuttered. God used him to confront Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of slavery

Gideon was the least of his clan in the least tribe of Israel. God used him to defeat the Midianites

Rahab was a harlot. God birthed the Messiah, Jesus, through her descendants

David was a shepherd boy. God made him King of Israel

Peter was a fisherman. God made him a fisher of men and the leader of the church in Jerusalem.

I could go on.....

It seems as though God is in this business of Reversal of Fortune, doesn't it?

In my own life. I was a wounded, insecure, shy girl who grew up without a dad and in a disfunctional home. God made me an author.

God has a "reversal of fortune" planned for your life. If you haven't already experienced it, it's coming. I guarantee it. You are no less important to him than any of those people in the Bible. And you are here for a reason. To do something big! But God won't just dump it in your lap. He requires something from you in return. Just study the lives of the people I listed above. What did they all have in common? I would venture to say 2 things:

Faith

Surrender

Small price to pay to reverse your destiny!
Can you think of other examples from the Bible?

Welcome to The Raven Saint month!

Every friday in December, I will post something about my upcoming release, The Raven Saint. All you need to do is leave a comment about the post and I will enter your name to win a free copy of the book. I will announce each week's winner the following Friday.

Simple Huh?

I'm very excited about this book! When I began the story, I thought it would be difficult to get into the heroine, Grace's character. Of all 3 sisters in the series, she was the sister I identified with the least! But as I progressed, I realized something very shocking. Some of Grace's worst qualities were also my own. Yikes. I wonder if you'll discover the same thing.

So without further ado, here's an in-depth look at Miss Grace Westcott.

Grace Westcott

Brief Description: At twenty years of age, Grace Westcott is the youngest of four sisters. With raven-colored hair and eyes a deep shade of emerald green, she’s been told she has beautiful exotic looks. But Grace closes her ears to such praises. Vanity only swells one’s pride, and pride goes before a fall. And she cannot allow such idle flattery to deter her from her mission to ensure her sister’s eternal salvation and attend to the poor in Charles Towne. Though not as petite as her sister, Hope, nor as tall as her sister, Faith, Grace tries to hide her medium, yet curvy, build beneath high-necked, loose fitting, plain gowns. There is no need to become a temptation to any of the men in Charles Towne. Not that she has received any unwanted attention—or any attention at all, for that matter. Besides, she is too busy aiding the poor and preaching to her sisters of the evils of sin, to have time for courting. If only they would listen to her, Grace is sure her sisters would save themselves a lot of pain and heartache. Yet despite Grace’s self-righteous attitude, she is a kind, generous lady who loves God and who would gladly give up her last meal to help someone in need.

Strengths: Self-sacrificing, Generous, Clever, Strong Faith, Confidence
Weaknesses: Judgmental, Idealistic, Lacks compassion for sinners, Nosy, Stubborn

Quirks: Grace wears a cross around her neck which is usually tucked within her bodice. When she’s nervous or upset, she pulls the cross out and rubs it. Also she throws a hand to her throat to cover up her exposed skin when she’s nervous. She says “Mercy me” all the time and is very outspoken about other people’s faults.

Inspiration: I love Grace’s character. I’ve seen her in so many people around me. She’s got a great heart, loves God, loves to help others, but she has one major flaw. She is too quick to judge everyone around her for any sin she sees in their lives. Since she has never had it rough in her life, since she’s always had a home and food and love, she cannot understand why people commit sin: why they steal or cheat or lie or are immoral. She only sees the sin, the top of the iceberg and refuses to look beneath. As a consequence, she comes across as being very prudish and self-righteous when in reality she only wants people to go to Heaven. More often than not, I find I can easily slip into this kind of attitude, judging the actions of others without truly knowing their heart. But wait until Grace runs into Rafe Dubois, the vile mercenary who kidnaps her from her home.

Say hello to Andrew!

I'm a grandma, or at least a step grandma. Andrew Michael, born November 17th early in the morning. A month early and only a wee bit over 5 pounds. But he's the best baby ever.

From left to right. My step-daughter, Susan, My hubby holding Andrew and me!