The man is zeroed in on the Masters. I can see his blond head from here. I’m back porch writing in my new Swingasan. (LOVE this thing!) Just a little while ago Papa and Mama came by for a quick cup of coffee. While they were here our conversation turned to Mama’s parents, my beloved grandparents and their camp on the Old River. It didn’t take us long to stack up a ton of stories from those years, almost all of them revolving around Papaw’s shenanigans. Stick around. I’ll tell you more of those as time goes by. I suppose all that storytelling primed me but no sooner had they left and I’d settled back into my writing spot when a smell drifted up from the lake bank and took me away. I’m a little girl again at Papaw’s camp, sunburned and satisfied with a bellyful of fried catfish fresh from the River. My middle sister and I are snuggled three deep in a tiny bed at the back of the camp along with our favorite cousin, Lisa. Papaw’s camp is a hodgepodge of add-on spaces tacked around an original trailer and we’re bedded down in a far corner. I remember white all around me, the sheets, the walls, the ceilings. It feels like we’ve been tucked in the bottom of an old comfy sock. We’re supposed to be sleeping but it’s summer time and we’re at the camp and our parents are up late laughing and talking, telling their own stories and making new ones. Bed times have relaxed along with everything else. By the time I come back to this porch the memories have had their way. I am decidedly mellow and that much more eager to get back to the manuscript at hand. I hope you read it one day and on that day, I hope it takes you to a similar place of peace, comfort, and love. Happy Sunday to you all. Hugs, Shellie
Wednesdays are bellerina days here at All Things Southern. The little belles and I get to play while their mother works and we all look forward to it. Right now, however, I’m under a little pressure to get the edits turned back into my editor for my latest manuscript. And that’s why, when my BFF offered to help tag-team babysit today to give me some extra hours at the laptop, I knew I needed to be a big girl and take her up on it. That’s the sort of thing forever friends will do for you. I’m reminded of the old quote, “New friends are silver, old friends are gold!” The deal was that I would have them in the morning, we would all grab lunch at Jehovah Java, and then Rhonda (you may have heard me call her “G” or “Red”) would take them for the afternoon. The bellerinas were excited about going to G’s, but they were still curious about the developments. “What are you doing after lunch, Keggie?” Emerson asked. I knew the girls had heard about my work but it occurred to me that I’d never really talked to them about what I do and they were getting old enough to understand more. So, I pulled a couple of my books out, set them down, and reminded them about how Keggie writes books, like the ones I read to them, but for big people. We traced my name on the front with their fingers as I read it aloud to them. When I told them that Keggie was going to be working on the next book after lunch, they really seemed to get it, especially Emerson the big sister. Carlisle just grinned and giggled. Of course, when I suggested we take pictures with the books, they were both all in. The resulting image make me smile every single time I look at it so naturally, I had to share. I hope you’ll enjoy it, too! Click to tweet
The most beautiful moon led me home last night. I knew my cell phone camera wouldn’t do it justice, but I had to try. I knew I’d want to share the moment with y’all. The moon was perfectly round and startling it it’s brilliance– and, bear with me here, but I felt it’s company. Am I not getting weirder all the time? Wait. Don’t answer that. I’m not saying the moon was speaking to me, but it’s Maker surely was and the bright shining presence of that full moon was acting like the most visible reminder that I wasn’t alone on the drive. Of course, I had to sing the moon song. I had to. I see the moon, the moon sees me. The moon sees the one I long to see. So, God bless the moon, and God bless me. And God bless the one I long to see. As I sang those lyrics and thought of how many years I’ve lifted that tune, I had a fall down on my face realization– only I didn’t because I was driving. I figured that was best. It hit me that for the first time ever I wasn’t thinking about a person when I sang the lyrics. Not my sweetheart who became my husband and remains my sweetie. Not my children who used to sing it with me word for word. No, I was thinking of the day I would see the One who spoke that orb into existence. Sometimes I still can’t believe what God has done with this heart. I have not always loved Jesus. I don’t know if that was clear as I need it to be so let me try again. I have not always loved Jesus– not even when I was claiming Him as Savior. Soon, I’ll tell that story in the release of my next book and how He came to claim my heart. I’m working on the first round of edits right now. They’re due back to Random House shortly. The book will be released in 2014. If we could settle on a title, I’d be sharing it with you right now, but we haven’t, so I can’t. In the meantime, I’ll be praying that YOU to know this love, too. The knowledge of this Jesus is sweet, but the experience of His love far exceeds it. He lives. Hugs, Shellie
I don’t know where else you plan to be tomorrow evening from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central time, but if there is any way possible, I hope you’ll make plans to join me for another great hour of ATS LIVE! I’m so looking forward to this show. In around the fun and folly that is normal for this “anything but ordinary” radio show, I’ve got two guests lined up that I seriously want you to meet! We’ll be talking to dynamic singer/songwriter Jeremy Calloway and checking out his latest release! I’m excited about this exciting and powerful artist to ATS LIVE! Next up, we’ll meet Shervin Youssefian, the Writer and Director of Crossroad, n emotional and inspiring story of redemption, forgiveness and the ultimate realization of God’s grace at work in every life. I can’t begin to tell you how much my man and I enjoyed this movie, winner of 5 Dove Awards! Here’s a link to watch the trailer: Will be there giveaways? Absolutely! Remember, you can find the ATS LIVE Listen Live link at the website and you can join the on air chat on the All Things Southern Facebook wall. Hope to see you on the air! Hugs, Shellie
