My Historical Fiction Inspired by a Legacy

My grandmother at 16 years old, 1936

This past week, I visited my 93 year old grandmother. She lives in the same home my late grandfather designed and built in 1986. The walls, table tops, and bookshelves are covered with family photos and memorabilia ranging from 1900 to 2013...yep, over a century's worth of memories. We toured the nearby Smithsonians in Washington D.C. while we were there, but I must say, I was most impressed with the home in which we stayed. My childhood flooded to me, and my love for history was kindled every time I walked from my bedroom to the kitchen.
The legacy of my grandparents is a great one, and one tendril of it has wrapped itself around my heart and begun to sprout fruit in my writing.

My great great grandparents in Greece

My great grandparents were immigrants to this country. (Their story inspired my recent novel which I hope to publish some day.) They came from a depressed economy in Greece at the turn of the century, and tried to grasp the American dream in the coal mines of Carbon County, Utah. My grandfather spent his early years living with four sisters (his two year old brother died of pneumonia) in a tent on the side of a mountain, while his father and mother did their best to provide for their family. He often told us of the tale where he fell in a well, and of the time when he first saw an African American...at college in Salt Lake City!

My grandfather as a child in the 20's

After researching for my novel, I learned that my Greek relatives were not accepted easily in the American culture. I learned that Greeks were considered, "the scum of Europe" and that my great grandparents most likely encountered discrimination.
My grandmother talked about being teased as children in Salt Lake City, and for some reason, it makes me more proud to know that no matter the unsteady ground upon which our roots were re-planted, my grandparents flourished into great Greek Americans.
My grandfather entered the Army, as an American, and fought in Africa, Italy, and all the way up to Germany...where he raided Hitler's summer home (the prizes he brought back from this are amazing!), and he freed the concentration camp in Dachau (the pictures of this are amazing!). He came back to a young family, and took the next step in the American Dream.
My grandfather, who grew up in a tent, began a booming construction business, which my uncles and cousin still own today, and have created a very well-respected name for themselves, and very successful projects as well.
From all this, I have realized why I love to write. Why history is so important to me. Why I am intrigued with certain eras of history. And it all lies in the memory of my grandmother, and upon the walls and shelves of her house.

From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

It made my stomach sour when I went into the district...and saw people take for granted the sheer awe-inspiring history of our country; how we might be considered a joke in other countries, or a worst enemy, but yet, we've come such a long way. And my snippet of family legacy proved that to me all the more.

My great great grandmother in Greece

Some people say that history isn't important...it's a waste of time to study it because it's all in the past. But I say, history is the key to who we are now, what we've learned, how we've grown, and possibly, what we might long for without really knowing it. Some things are better left behind, but then there are other things that might have slipped away with much regret, leaving us in a future that is a little less honorable, a little less safe, and without the men whose hard work and fighting gave us a gift of Freedom that we so often take for granted.

History is worth writing about. It's worth transporting readers into a different time and place, that really, is part of who they are, even if they don't realize it!

Rock Your Babies

To all you young moms out there--be sure and take the time to rock your babies. 

It may not be politically correct now with all the books on crying it out...and I am not saying don't ever let your baby fuss before bed (although remember that there might be another reason besides them trying to manipulate you). 

But don't lose your chance to rock them every now and then. 

To smell their hair below your chin, to feel their warmth on your torso.

To lull them to sleep as you rock forward and back, 

sweet lullabyes on your lips, sweet coos on their tongues. 

A day will come when they will squirm, they won't want you so close.

Be sure and take the time to rock your babies. 

It's a sweet memory that every mama should treasure.

My Children's Self-Image, Part 2

Today, I listened to Beth Moore speak. If any of you have taken one of her studies, or have had the privilege to hear her in person, then you know what it means to sit in the presence of a true God-speaker.
Over the past thirteen years, God has used Beth time and again in my life--to grow me, shape me, and inspire me to be a woman of His heart.

As you know from my last blog, one of my biggest prayers for my children is to grow to their full potential of how God has made them. And while I was speaking of the secular pressures out there previously, today Beth Moore showed me something more.

In 1Samuel, when David's qualities are mentioned as he was annointed by Samuel, and later by a servant of Saul, we see that David was quite an unusual man in our human way of thinking. He was a musician AND a warrior, he was a lowly shepherd AND an annointed king. He truly was a lion AND a lamb.

Something Beth said, struck me as a mother of boys and a wife of a very jack-of-all-trades kind of husband.

"When God finds a heart given over to Him, He forms from it a life with facets and features that normally wouldn't fit."

"He makes us unusual."

How could a Christian, who truly has the "activated spirit of God" within them, not possess such a three-dimensionality of qualities that our human minds expect to divide into boxes of male, female, melancholic, pragmatic...you name the categories...?

My boys may be rough and tumble, sports-prone, full of energy-- but they are also compassionate, nurturing to their little sister, and very emotional creatures!

My husband is a hunter, an athlete, a man of strength and respect, but he is a musician, a nurturer, a man of compassion and tenderness.

Why do we, in the world AND in the Christian realm, short-change our men when it comes to not-so masculine qualities? As I read headlines of mothers who encourage their boys to be girls at younger and younger ages, I realize they are totally conforming to a narrow way of thinking about what it means to be a certain sex. To base this on the way our children interact in their environment, the tangible things they gravitate toward that we as a society have labeled gender-specific, is not focusing on what really matters--and that is the heart of the child. Even if they don't have the Spirit inside them, they are created in God's image, and He is a God of every good feature and facet we know--which are not male or female specific.
In a fallen world, this celebration of unique creation is being tainted with human explanation and permission to take the easy way out, and not focus on the heart but on the external appearance.

It is a worldly view to even consider internal qualities as masculine or feminine...especially in children of God. If they have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside their hearts, then don't you expect they might be tender warriors, or nurturing kings?


It saddens me to hear parents try and discourage their boys from being emotional--I've seen fathers scold their sons for showing tears. But it also enrages me to hear society try and squelch traits they consider "masculine" all in the name of political correctness and open-mindedness.

The more I understand God's will, the more I realize that this world is far from open-minded...that, it might be trying to push against old stereotypes, but it is just turning the old ones inside out...they are sterotypes just the same.

Praise God that we are truly unique according to His Purpose and His Spirit. It's so nice not to have to push against the grain when the heart is the limit!

My Children's Self-Image

There are things my children question that I would have never considered as a child. We've discussed abortion, sex, and gay marriage at ages I would have never believed necessary (9 years old and younger). And my husband and I have only discussed them on the defense...when our children have hurled the topic at us because of what they've heard. I am starting to realize that I better sharpen my defensive line to one of steel!

I am glad that we can be open about discussing these things--giving my children an educated, moral view on topics that scream at us from headlines and t.v. screens. Yet, since I brought my first son into this world, I've struggled with the fact that we are raising our children in a society of subjective truths, compromised morals, choices that toe the edge of right or wrong, and I''ve feared my children would find confusion and pressure to conform.

Tonight, my son--only 8 years old--brought up one of these hot topics, and it wasn't just in a questioning way. He brought it up in a personal way, wondering what would happen if HE dealt with it when he was older. Our children aren't ignorant. When they are exposed to agendas, ideas, and opinions, their self-image--their developing self-image--is bound to shift. I wonder...

What obstacles will he now have to fight inside his head to stay true to his true self? What seed has been planted that must either be nurtured or die for him to become the person of his full potential?

With so much permission out there to choose roads that are certainly not for everyone, how is a tween, teen, young adult to find out who they truly are without making devastating mistakes in the process?

Honestly, I don't know how to parent without Jesus, these days. It is such a blessing to know that my children know Him, and because of that ONE truth, they know themselves. All of our discussions revolve around this central foundation in Romans 8:
  
¹⁴ For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

 My children may be fed the garbage of society, watching things they shouldn't see, hearing things they really aren't sure how to process, but if I can guide them as children of the Living God, Whose grace and love will follow them throughout their lives, then I pray they will know themselves only through Him, and not let the world distract them with agendas and man-made truths.

A Family Boot Camp

Appropriately after my last post, my family has taken a turn for boot camp. It's been snowy, we've banned video games/electronics to the weekends, and my husband was in charge of entertaining the boys this Monday. So, with the good ol' effort of a former CT from Texas A&M (ROTC if you're wondering), my hubby gave the boys something to do: push ups, sit ups, any physical activity that could be contained to our living room. It was fun for the first five minutes, and then it became more than fun...it became inspiration! They ran around the room, thumping their bare chests like gorillas (well, not really, but it was in the same spirit), and my three boys were spurred on to take it all a step further.
10 push ups?
I can do 11.
25 sit ups?
I can do 30.
How about arm wrestling? Let's see who wins.
What about racing around the kitchen island? I'll beat you by 1.5 seconds.
Yeah, can we say testosterone pumped FREELY through our haven from the wintry elements?

So, I sat back, laughing as my daughter also tried to keep up, and thought...wow, this was an ingenious way to entertain these VERY energetic children on this VERY cold day....and then, my entertainment took a turn for the better: My 6 year old and 8 year old were raiding the fridge for only HEALTHY stuff. Yep. They munched on carrots, snap peas, blueberries, and apples. They were so excited to get in shape from my husband's impromptu boot camp, they took their hungry selves to the fridge in search for power food! Hilarious and awesome all at once!
The next morning, I even had to explain to them that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in their packed lunch weren't all that bad for them since I bought the all natural of each...they insisted it all had too much sugar!!

So, now it's Wednesday, and I sit here typing this while my son is continuing his sit ups with Dad as his spotter. These boys crave energy-releasing activity! And if this is the way they do it, then so be it. My husband may have sore arms from Monday's exercise, but at least sit ups and push ups for my rambunctious boys are better than video games!

 Do I hear an amen??