Monday, January 30, 2012

NEWS and a Journey of Grace

Dear Friends, I'm absolutely thrilled to announce my new website at DineenMiller.com. The team at Pulse Point Design (waving at Kelli and Emily!) did an outstanding job integrating my fiction and my nonfiction. I just love it.

With it comes a small change. This blog will become my journal and is part of my main site. I hope you'll stop over at Dineen's Journal and check it out. I'll be starting a few posts about grace—God's grace.

He keeps telling me, "know my grace." I'm on a journey to find out what that means...

Monday, January 23, 2012

The What's for Dinner Solution by Kathi Lipp

Friends, if you haven't discovered Kathi Lipp's books yet, check them out. She has an amazing way of breaking things down into doable chunks. She is most definitely the "project lady" and is so very gift in this area. Her books, The Husband Project, The Marriage Project and The Me Project are written in a way  to bring change to your life in fun ways through her step by step guides and are based in Biblical truths.

Her newest book the What's for Dinner Solution is another necessity for organizing your life. I love how she breaks down the challenge of putting a healthy and yummy dinner into your life in an organized and doable way. She even shares her favorite recipes.

Here's some info about Kathi and her latest book!



For many women, dread turns to panic around 4:00 in the afternoon. That’s when they have to answer that age-old question, “What’s for dinner?” Many resort to another supermarket rotisserie chicken or—worse yet—ordering dinner through a drive-thru intercom. 


In The “What’s for Dinner” Solution, popular author and speaker Kathi Lipp provides a full-kitchen approach for getting dinner on the table every night. After putting her 21-day plan into action, women will:

• save time—with bulk shopping and cooking 
• save money—no more last-minute phone calls to the delivery pizza place 
• save their sanity—forget the last-minute scramble every night and know what they’re having for dinner 

The book includes real recipes from real women, a quick guide to planning meals for a month, the best shopping strategies for saving time and money, and tips on the best ways to use a slow cooker, freezer, and pantry. With Kathi’s book in hand, there’s no more need to hit the panic button. 

Author Bio 
Kathi Lipp is a busy conference and retreat speaker of The Husband Project: 21 Days to Loving Your Man—on Purpose and with a Plan, The Marriage Project: 21 Days to More Love and Laughter, and The Me Project: 21 Days to Living the Life You’ve Always Wanted. She is a frequent guest on Focus on the Family and dozens of other radio programs. 

Church leaders and women’s ministry directors rely on Kathi to help women move from living out of obligation to enjoying godly passion. She speaks to thousands of women across the US and Canada every year. 

Kathi and her husband, Roger, are the parents of four young adults and live in San Jose, California. 


JOIN THE FUN!!!
Check out Kathi's Facebook page and join her this week as she shares planning sheets, recipes and tips all week long! That's her gift to everyone! Enjoy!

Friday, January 13, 2012

The Shadow of Your Smile by Susan Mae Warren

I had the chance to read this book late last year as a recipient of an advanced reader copy (Thank you, Tyndale). I love Susan May Warren's Deep Haven books, and this one is so moving. I'm a sucker for a story about a married couple and this one has a really cool twist. Will Noelle and Eli find each other again and save their marriage? You have to read and find out.

Don't miss out on Susan's contest down below too.


About the book: The Shadow of Your Smile

A beautiful blanket of snow may cover the quaint town of Deep Haven each winter, but it can’t quite hide the wreckage of Noelle and Eli Hueston’s marriage.



After twenty-five years, they’re contemplating divorce . . . just as soon as their youngest son graduates from high school. But then an accident erases part of Noelle's memory. Though her other injuries are minor, she doesn’t remember Eli, their children, or the tragedy that has ripped their family apart. What’s more, Noelle is shocked that her life has turned out nothing like she dreamed it would. As she tries to regain her memory and slowly steps into her role as a wife and mother, Eli helps her readjust to daily life with sometimes-hilarious, sometimes-heartwarming results. But can she fall in love again with a man she can’t remember?

Will their secrets destroy them . . . or has erasing the past given them a chance for a future? Read the story behind the story here: http://www.susanmaywarren.com/books/the-shadow-of-your-smile
About Susan:  Susan May Warren is an award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, many of which have won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, the ACFW Book of the Year award, the Rita Award, and have been Christy finalists. After serving as a missionary for eight years in Russia, Susan returned home to a small town on Minnesota’s beautiful Lake Superior shore where she, her four children, and her husband are active in their local church.
Susan's larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder ofwww.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.
Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!)
A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at:www.susanmaywarren.com. 


Come Back to Deep Haven and Win a $200 Visa Card from @SusanMayWarren! Sometimes love requires a little forgetting ... Come back to Deep Haven and find out what's been happening in your favorite quaint hamlet. If you're new to the Deep Haven series - this is the perfect book to start with - each book in the series is a stand alone story.

Susan is celebrating the release of The Shadow of Your Smile by giving away a prize pack worth over $200 from 1/9-1/28.


One grand prize winner will receive:
  • A $200 Visa Gift Card (Use that to rekindle a little romance, treat yourself to a spa day, snap up those shoes you’ve been eyeing, or purchase a few great books!)
  • The entire set of Deep Haven Books 
The winner will be announced on 1/30/12 on Susan’s blog,

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Miracle Monday—So I'm a day late...

I like the ring of that—Miracle Monday. Forgive me for being a day late. But that doesn't mean we can't still celebrate the miracles all around us.

So, my latest miracle? I don't know if you'd call it a miracle per say, but I say it's indicative of how God is working in my life. To me, that's miraculous no matter what it is. I mean, come on. The Creator of the universe takes delight in me. And you. That's downright awe-inspiring.

Miraculous.

I leave tomorrow for a writer conference. My favorite event of the year. I love ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). I get to be weird AND spiritual. Doesn't get much better than that in my book—pun intended. I'm a writer, remember?

For the last three years, I have somehow received (through email, a devo, or a friend) these two verses and right before this conference. Three years in a row!

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?... ~ Isaiah 43:19, NLT 


...For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it. ~ Habakkuk 1:5

Some pretty amazing things have happened too. God's pretty amazing. Can't wait to see what happens this time.

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Back to Miracles

I realized when I started this blog, I wanted it to be about God and how He works in our lives in miraculous ways. I think I lost sight of that. And you know what? I have some miracles to share.

We've walked a long road with our youngest daughter. A road that started with depression, a cancer diagnosis, and an emotional recovery I thought would somedays take me under. God was truly my strength. Just this week, I watched my baby girl drive off with her dad to start a new life, one filled with promise and independence. A life she is excited to grab hold of! This is a huge miracle to this mama's heart. We pour so much into our kids, so many prayers and aches.

I'm so glad I didn't give up. God answered my prayers in ways I never even imagined. There were days I was afraid this day would never come for her, yet here it is—better than I could have imagined. I love this kids fiercely and letting go isn't easy. But I'm so excited to see her spread her wings and want to finally fly.

And my sweet hubby seems to have had a shift in his beliefs. He's more of an agnostic now than an atheist. I don't know how it happened—yes, I do. God. What blows me away is how quiet and subtle it was. I think that's how it needs to be for him. Nothing earth shattering and sudden. Just a steady progression. Until now, I just couldn't picture how it would happen. I think God wants it that way. LOL!

So, I will end this post here with a question. Miracles come in all sizes. God's love alone is miraculous. What miracles of love is God working in your life?