Check out these happy campers! This weekend the Tiede family enjoyed our first camping trip of the season. It was a little delayed because of our crazy schedule, but it was worth the wait. We had extraordinary weather and broke in some new friends to the joys of camping. Charlie (8-not pictured), Ben (7), Sarah (6), and Caleb (5) had a blast.  S’mores were among their favorites.  Sarah lost a tooth eating one and the tooth fairy even found her at the campground!  The only thing missing was Kadi, who is visiting family in Texas. We can’t wait to have her with us for the next trip.

 On Saturday, Mike, Ben, Luke, Sarah and I went tubing down the Root River.  It was gorgeous.  For the most part the water was quite shallow.  Only a few times did we find it to be very deep at all. Occassionally we hit some gentle rapids, which the kids loved.  At one point, however, the rapids drove us straight into a fallen tree.  Our tubes were all tied together and my back was to the oncoming log. The men attempted to push us away from the log with their feet, but were unsuccessful.  As a result, I crashed into the log and it flipped my tube over slicker than slime and pushed me under the log and tube.  Okay, this nearly 40-year-old, who  never passed Minnow 2 at the YMCA as a child, was tempted to freak out!  It was necessary for me to put on a good show of bravery for the kids though. Of course I only had to stand up, the water was only 3 feet deep, but the current made it really difficult to get my footing.  Let’s not mention the fact that I had swallowed a boatload of water and lost my sunglasses.  I was just thankful to keep my contacts in my eyes! Ah, another Tiede adventure.

This afternoon we are recovering from our 4 days away and tomorrow we will hit the road running.  I have a number of writing projects that need to be completed and Ben has piano lessons.  I also have some fun surprises to mail to Kadi in TX.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Raised in the American Southwest, Kathleen began her love affair with the desert as a child. Before becoming a writer she, among other jobs, worked in both the juvenile facility fro incarcerated girls and a home for emotionally disturved children. Mother of two, sh lives in Northern California with her husband and youngest son. Visit her blog, Reading, Writing, and What Else is There? She is a member of the CFBA, too! Give her a holler!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

“Not a safe world.” How many times had she heard it over and over again? Well, it is not a safe world and Dara Murphy Brogan knew it better than most, which is exactly why she had tucked herself away on a desert mountaintop. Now it was just her, the voice inside her head and the boxes of hastily packed odds and ends—all that was left of her pathetic excuse of a life. Hadn’t she chosen the desert because it was barren and brown and dead looking and far, far away from anyone who may have seen the news?

So what was this, this trespasser, this interloper, this wacked out earth mother doing dancing outside her window? Celebrating life and the Spirit in a way Dara never could have dreamed. Until she opened her door and met Jane Cameron.

A book that makes me laugh is a joy, a book that makes me cry is a rarity. But a book that moves me to dance is sublime. To Dance in the Desert is a spectacular experience. Beautifully written, deeply moving, and warmly engaging—that this is Kathleen Popa’s first novel astounds me. That she will quickly be counted among the top caliber of Christian novelists delights me. I simply loved this book.
~Kathryn Mackel, Author of The Hidden

Kathleen Popa creates a compelling vision of a small community’s power to coax waning spirits back toward life. This gem of a novel worked on me like a dream. Popa’s evocative prose captured the nuance and complexity of transformation with equal parts mystery and truth. She conjures the deserts of Dara Brogan’s life with intimate clarity, reminding us along the way of the profound strength of what we take far too much for granted—the deep friendship of kindred spirits. This is a journey worth taking.

~Jeff Berryman, Author of Leaving Ruin

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin Parrish had two great ambitions in his life: to have a family, and to be a published novelist.

In March of 2005, he proposed to his future wife the same week he signed his first book contract.

Born Michael Robin Parrish on October 13, 1975, Robin’s earliest writing efforts took place on a plastic, toy typewriter, and resulted in several “books” (most between 10 and 30 pages long) and even a few magazines.

By the age of thirteen, he had begun winning local writing awards and became a regular in his high school’s literary magazine. In college, he garnered acclaim from his English professors and fellow students while maturing and honing his skills.

After college, he entered the writing profession through a “side door” — the Internet. More than ten years he spent writing for various websites, including About.com, CMCentral.com, and his current project Infuze Magazine, which is a unique intersection between art and faith which he also conceived of and created.

One of his more “high concept” ideas for Infuze was to return to his love for storytelling and create a serialized tale that would play out every two weeks, telling a complete, compelling story over the course of nine months. That serialized story eventually came to the attention of several publishers, who saw it as a potential debut novel for Robin Parrish.

In 2005, Bethany House Publishers brought Robin full circle by contracting him for the rights to not only that first book, Relentless — but two sequels. A trilogy, to unfold in the consecutive summers of 2006, 2007, and 2008. One massive tale — of which that first, original story would form only the foundational first volume of the three — spread across three books.

Robin is the Editor in Chief and creator of Infuze Magazine. He and his wife Karen reside in High Point, North Carolina. Karen works for High Point’s First Wesleyan Church, where Robin and Karen are members and Small Group leaders.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Book Two of the Dominion Trilogy:

The world changed after that terrible day when the sky burned, and now every heart is gripped by fear…

Earthquakes, fire, disease, and floods pummel the earth, and its citizens watch in horror.

But in the darkness there is hope — an anonymous but powerful hero whom the public dubs “Guardian.” He is Grant Borrows, one of a chosen few who walk the earth with extraordinary powers. But while Grant enjoys this new life, signs of a dangerous ancient prophecy begin coming true, and those closest to Grant worry he may be hiding a terrible secret.

A search for answers brings Grant and his friends to London, where an extraordinary discovery awaits that will challenge everything they thought they knew. With a deadly new enemy dogging his steps, Grant realizes that the world’s only hope may come from unraveling the truth about himself once and for all. But what he comes face-to-face with leaves even this most powerful of men shaken with fear.

Secrets will be revealed.

Friends will make the ultimate sacrifice.

And destiny will not be denied.