And the Race is On

My oldest son, age 17, is on the left, my youngest son, age 7, is on the right

And the race is on...

Two brothers, two cars, two first place medals for speed...

Last weekend our church held a pine car derby. Now years ago we used to run an A.W.A.N.A. program (Awana for those of you who don't know is a kids program kind of like boy scouts but without the camping, more earning patches and awards for Bible memory work and the kids play lots of fun games too) and my brother-in-law built this track for the big Grand Prix Race.

This year our church youth group decided to resurrect the track from the church attic and host a special event, an outreach to families to join in the fun with an old fashion pine car derby race. Old and young alike sat in rows of chairs cheering the kids on to victory! There were awards given for speed and for style according to their age groups. A short devotional was given reminding us that we are in a race.

Sometimes in life it may feel like a rat race, hectic, crazy, busy, are just a few of the terms that come to my mind. But let's not forget that the Bible tells us that life is a different kind of race, not so much for speed, but for endurance and guess what? God wants us to win!

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NKJV) says this, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."

On Thursday, June 11th, I am going to have a special guest on my blog, author and Women of Faith Speaker, Thelma Wells talking about her new book, "Don't Give In... God Wants You to Win! Preparing for Victory in the Battle of Life." I hope you'll join me.

Until then, let's run the race God has given us, set aside the weight of sin that trips us up and consider Jesus Christ so we won't become weary and discouraged!

Live the adventure,

An Atypical Post

I'm going to do a bit of rambling today, a bit atypical for me because I like to have some sort of order when I write, well, as I look around my house and see all that I have to do, I'd like to have a bit of order there as well, but that will have to wait, actually that has been waiting for a long time - LOL!

Anyhow, here's what's going through my mind today, maybe I'm being reflective because it's Memorial Day, a day to remember. Whatever the reason, here it goes... it has to do with the topic of "words".

I've been reading a few posts from other bloggers today, some of these blogs I read regularly, some I've just read for the first time. I like to read and write, but with my new jewelry business, that time has been severely cut back which makes me sad, but it is needed if I am to run a successful home business to help our family. So let me say I'm sorry if I don't comment as much as I'd like. I miss you all dearly.

Which leads me to the thought about "words" themselves. Words are powerful. I recently read a post from a dear friend whose words were woven so beautifully, so profound, so full of insight, I was left weak - weak with longing and desire not only to be that kind of Mom, but to be that kind of writer as well.

I feel guilty for feeling that way - is that jealousy? (You don't have to answer that one, I know and it is a rhetorical question anyhow - [grin])

Then I read a post from a Christian celebrity singer's wife, a person you have probably heard about, but I won't mention in this post. Anyhow, once again I was moved with the raw honesty of her personal struggle with loss, life, but ultimately the victory that Christ brings.

Do I write honestly like that I thought - real? (Don't answer that either, I'm not sure what to say myself - at least I try to write that way.) There have been times I have said it plain, raw, like in the very first devotional I had published about my first husband's death.


I read another post that posed a question about, "How does this bring God glory?" This family dealt with the loss of their son. Their precious son only lived for 99 days, but they celebrated each and every one. They are a testimony of God's grace.

Hmm.... did I answer a profound question on that post too quickly, with a pat answer? I cannot tell, but I can only tell what God has worked and is working in my heart - that there can be joy in sorrow because the joy of the LORD is our strength.

Words... powerful... profound... I feel so inadequate... These thoughts run through my head with my writing: I wish I could do more - differently, have I done enough - what God wants, am I clear, am I honest - transparent, why am I jealous - I loathe it... God help me.


But in the end of this random rambling I must come to this conclusion, God has given us each a different path in this world to walk, maybe our roads will cross along the way and who knows how God will work through it - to encourage me, to encourage you? He has given each of us different abilities, different writing styles, different everything, that is why we are unique in His eyes. See? There I go trying to explain, to teach, should I be doing that, am I qualified?

May each of us give our lives completely to the Lord and our thoughts captive to His obedience. Oh how I need it, long for it, hope for it as I trust in Him. In the end I go back to the truth of God's Word as I plead:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5,6


Live the adventure,

Abiding Forever

"All flesh is as grass,

And the glory of man as the flower of the grass.

The grass withers,

And its flower falls away,

But the word of the LORD endures forever."

I Peter 1:24,25

This picture was taken on our recent trip down South while on a college tour with our son. We stayed at a lovely little bed and breakfast one night in the foothills of southwest North Carolina.

So much in life will change, but there is one thing that never will - God's Word. Won't you open up the Bible today and see what God has written just for you?

Live the adventure,

Face of Faith Book Interview

Candy, you have written Face of Faith. What is it about?

When I was thirty years old, I was hospitalized for the removal of a pea-sized cyst in the nasal cavity. Instead, I was diagnosed with an inoperable malignant tumor the size of a baseball situated underneath the brain in the center of the head in an inoperable area of the head. Grade-three bone cancer is not receptive to chemotherapy or radiation. They told me that I could lose the right side of my face.

I had always thought that I was a Christian, but I had never really surrendered my life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In the hospital room that night I was finally at the end of Candy - emotionally, mentally, and physically. I asked God to totally take over my life.

My circumstances didn’t change, but God began to change my heart to one seeking His will only for my life whatever that might be.

Two weeks later I met with a craniofacial surgeon at the Mayo Clinic. He was very upfront about my surgery and my prognosis. No sugar coating.

He explained that he would cut across the top of the head and down the middle of the face enabling him to peel back both sides of the face and remove the greater portion of my face including the forehead bone, the right cheekbone, and the nose. He could hopefully remove the bulk of the tumor, buying me some time. He would not replace the bones to the face. I would wake up severely deformed and blind in the right eye, probably the left.

Miraculously, he instead attempted to remove the tumor in its entirety, and it worked. Even more miraculously, he took the bones to the face that had been thrown in the trash and reconstructed my face. I had a new face. And was cancer free.


What goes through someone’s mind when they are told they have an inoperable tumor in the center of the head and could lose the right side of their face? You were thirty years old. That’s pretty overwhelming.

For me, the will to live took over. That stubborn will to fight no matter what the odds.

There were complications after that first surgery. What did that involve?

Seven months after the first surgery, infection spread throughout the forehead bone and forehead skin. I was put in isolation. Five weeks later and four more surgeries, I returned home weighing 79 pounds with a shaved head, sunken in forehead, and two skin graphs on the front and back of the head.

Two years later on a routine check up trip to the Mayo Clinic, the tumor recurred. Same place. This time the size of a raspberry. So they did the whole first surgery again.

During those three years of nine surgeries and frequent trips to the Mayo Clinic, did you ever ask God “Why me?” Were you ever angry with God?

I never asked God “Why me?” I did ask what was going on? I didn’t understand. I asked why He was allowing so much in my life, but not so much why it was happening to ME. Yes, I was angry with God often. Thankfully someone informed me that God could handle my anger.

How do you address the importance that society has put on beauty?

There is nothing wrong with wanting to look the best that you can look. I personally have always enjoyed experimenting with makeup and getting professional makeovers, especially now that I am facially disfigured. I want to make the most of what I have. But at the end of the day for me, the makeup comes off and the hairpieces come off. If my confidence depended on beauty, I could be devastated. And many facially disfigured people are.

In a world obsessed with perfection of the outer appearance and makeovers of every kind, God is more interested in a different kind of makeover – one that lasts – a makeover of the heart.

That’s what happened with me. He began a makeover of my heart. And He’s still working on me!!

How did your husband handle the stress of your illness and the new Candy?

Unfortunately ours was not a happy marriage before I was ever sick. It was an emotionally abusive household. After twenty-four years of marriage, Lee filed for divorce.

Candy, you have experienced emotional pain and physical pain. Which is more difficult?

Physical pain is difficult– especially chronic pain. It is wearing and can affect a person emotionally as well. But there are medications for pain.

But the emotional pain of abuse is sometimes more difficult, I think. You can’t take a pill for it. It requires a lot of time and counseling. Only the Lord can heal the broken heart and enable us to forgive.

Where can we find out more about you and this book?

Please visit my web site at faceoffaithbook.com. Thank you for letting me visit with your readers today!

Thank you Candy for joining me here at Adventurous Living! You are truly an inspiration to us all on this journey of faith!

Go Ahead, Judge This Book By Its Cover...

Did you ever just feel so blessed that God brought someone into your life? I have - especially when that someone draws you closer to Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow I am going to have a very special guest author on my blog talking about her new book, Face of Faith, discovering a different kind of makeover.

In a world that focuses on beauty, Candy Wood Lindley chose to surrender to a different kind of makeover - a makeover in the Master's hands. Candy tells her amazing story - a true medical miracle. I hope you'll join me tomorrow.

This true story moved me deeply. My husband's sister has experienced something similar, not to the extreme of Candy, but emotionally and physically painful nonetheless and it forever changed her life.

Today I hope you'll think about the words of this poem penned by Candy's friend. It beautifully defines the joy beneath for one who has "endured more than most could stand, and whose faith knows no limits" - a joy only Christ can bring.

Across the room while firmly placed,
my weary eyes beheld her face,
and noticed scars had left their trace,
and for a moment missed her grace,
which flourished like the blooms of Spring.

Then to my marvel and surprise,
I saw the joy beneath her eyes,
and though they'd cried a thousand cries,
they mirrored what she held inside,
the faithful love of Christ the King.

While others would have been depressed,
this woman spoke of being blessed,
and as His will 'twas for the best,
a faith so perfect I confess,
must raise the hosts above to sing.

Then what at first mine eyes did shield,
resplendent beauty now revealed,
and scars once there His love concealed,
"Behold the lilies of the field,"
this thought the sight of her did bring

She'd denied strife room to fetter,
God her salve to make things better,
great her pain, God much greater,
grew my faith for having met her,
faith in the Christ, my Lord and King.

Please come back tomorrow to find out more about this amazing woman and her new book.

Live the adventure,

We Have a Winner!

We have a winner…

First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you for entering this book contest. I LOVED reading all your comments and seeing which women of the Bible have impacted your life and why. It was encouraging and helpful for others to read as well.

While I would love to give a signed copy of this book to each and every one of you, (and I think each of you are deserving) I always pray that God will have the one person who needs this book the most to be the one who is picked out of the “hat”.

Last night I wrote down the names of those who had entered on slips of paper. Then my seven-year-old closed his eyes, reached in the “hat” – which was actually a plastic bowl and picked a winner. He was VERY excited to see who won and I am very happy to say that the soon to be owner of this signed hardback copy of A Cup of Comfort Women of the Bible is…

Well, let me just quote what this person says on their blog:

"I am 30 years old and live in Germany. My blog is to reflect my life and the attitude of the motto that I used in the header: it is never too late to start something new and it is never hopeless to invest your heart in this world.”

The winner of this book contest loves Esther in the Bible and said, “She is so fearless and outgoing when she's fighting for her people and risks her life in going to the king!”

The winner is APPLETREE!

This is a new blog for Appletree, although I know this person wrote another blog for awhile so I’ve had a chance to get to read their writing over the last few years.

Appletree, I am so happy for you and am thrilled to send this copy overseas to your home. Friend, I know you have gone through difficult times over the last couple of years and I pray that God will use this book in a special way to speak words of peace and life. Please email me with your shipping information.

Three devotionals in this daily inspirational book are mine. One is about Ruth called Loving Again, another about Eve entitled A Walk in the Garden, and one more about Naaman’s wife’s servant girl called Turn Towards the Wind.

I wrote about Ruth because like Ruth I was a young widow who remarried. I love how she trusted God and the Lord rewarded her. I wrote about Eve because there was a time that she walked and talked with God in the Garden of Eden – how peaceful it is to open up God’s Word and walk with Him. And then there’s the girl who was taken from her home land of Israel and became a slave. This girl believed in God, served God where she was and sent her master in the right direction for help.

All these women were just regular women, like you, like me. My prayer is that as we read the Bible we’ll see the truths that God has for each of us – men, women, and children. The Bible is for everyone whether young or old!

In addition, I took this book with me to the Lancaster book signing event I participated in yesterday and asked two other contributing authors for their signatures – Connie Pombo, Connie's my speaking mentor and I am part of her network of speakers for Women's Mentoring Ministries (click here for Connie’s blog) and Kathy Pride (click here for Kathy’s blog). Two other authors joined us with their Cup of Comfort Mothers & Daughters book for this combined event as well - Carol Cool (click here for Carol's blog) and a dear friend from my writers group, Carolyn Ruch (click here for Carolyn's blog - it is brand new, still in the works blog which I can't wait to feature sometime soon here at Adventurous Living). Check out this link for a quick slide show of our book event. :

http://www.slide.com/r/jChA5pw2xz_60t_Srz9uH7QtImJYvkJS?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

Please know that God will use each and every one of us in a special way when we trust Him, walk with Him, and serve Him with all our heart! Happy Mother's Day!

Live the adventure,

Book Contest & Signing

Hello all my friends out there! I am so excited to offer another book contest for you to enter. I'm humbled and thankful to God to have three devotionals published in a new book entitled A Cup of Comfort Women of the Bible Devotional.

To celebrate, I am offering a FREE signed copy of this beautiful hardback padded devotional book through the following giveaway. Here how it works - there's just two rules:

1 - Please leave a comment on my blog stating your favorite Bible character that is a woman - your choice.

2 - Tell me what character quality you admire about this woman and why.

Guys and girls can enter. Guys, this would make a lovely gift for a special woman in your life. If you are chosen as the contest winner, I will contact you for your shipping information to send you your signed copy.

By the way, I plan on taking a copy of the book with me to the book signing event I will be participating in this Saturday at Barnes & Noble. You'll have more than just one contributing author signature in your book if you are the winner! How cool is that?

If you're in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area on Saturday, May 9th between 11am and 1pm, I'd be delighted to meet you and personally sign a copy of A Cup of Comfort Women of the Bible Devotional for you or for a friend. If you're a writer and interested in meeting other authors, it is a combined book signing event and a few other authors with various books will be joining me for the event.

Here's where I'll be on Saturday from 11am to 1pm:

Barnes & Noble Booksellers

1700 H. Fruitville Pike

Lancaster, Pa 17601

Phone: 717-290-8171

I'll draw one winner from the hat on Sunday, Mother's Day! So check back to see who wins! I'll also tell you which three Bible women I wrote about!

Live the adventure,