Royalty

Today, out of the blue and much to my surprise I received my first royalty check from Tate. It wasn't much, $25.00 actually, but it was a nice surprise. I thought I would have to wait til the first quarter(Jan) to receive anything. I also discovered in my daily check of my rating on Amazon that I went from 800,000 something to 300,000 something in my sales rating. I'm not sure what that means but a jump of 500,000 has got to be good!!! How everyone had a safe and fun "Fall Fest" however your family chooses to celebrate. We had a fun time at the Godeke Library as the "Guest storyteller and her merry band of troubadours". I read my favorite since Maddy was 4 "The Princess and the Kiss"Even Rich got into the act and read "The Squire and the Scroll"(both by Jeannie Bishop) while the kids acted it out. Fun was had by all. Blessings, deb

A cord of Three Strands

"And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him, and a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart." Ecc 4:12

I have been taught, or maybe I heard it in a sermon once that the 3 strands represents a husband, wife and God. My kids surmised that it is the Trinity that is meant here. These are both good and even Godly answers but is it what I need?
As I asked God in prayer, what are the three that make something, someone "not quickly torn apart" a familiar verse came to mind "And these three remain: Faith, Hope and Love. But the greatest of these is Love" I Corinthians 13:13

Faith, what is it? (other that the substance of things hoped for)
In the frame of parenting, My Faith is my religious beliefs. and for me they include my spiritual heritage. Faith of our Fathers, if you will. I need to share faith stories, not just those from the bible but also of my and my husband's faith walk and even that of our parents and grandparents. This part of our history is often omited because it is so personal but I believe it is pertinent to a child's spiritual maturity to know our struggles, strenghts and weaknesses and how we came to know God and continue to grow in Him. If a parent isn't confident enough to share that with their children, who will?

Hope, as my daughter put it is God and Jesus, not just that I have hope to go to heaven when I die but that God is a benevolent God who has good things planned for me "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans for hope and a future" Jer 29:11 I know this verse got me through some pretty hopeless times. I need to speak and demonstrate this hope to my children. I need to walk this talk. Do I act like God is on my side? Do I ask Him for those good plans? Do I speak the good destiny to and over my children in their hearing? They need to hear that, daily, weekly, yearly, every chance you get. Bless them with the hope we have for them to grow into the overcomers we know they can be.

Love - This one is simple for me What is love? "God is Love." I John 4:8
Be His love to your kids, love them silly. Love them enough to fight the hard battles. Love them enough to sacrifice our comfort but most of all love them enough to train and discipline them, even when they fight us.


A cord of these three strands were the life line that my parents wove for me before I ventured out into the big wide world. I hope to also do the same for mine...

Preparing a Princess

Two new princess movies are out this Fall. One night with the King is a film rendition of Tommey Tenny's story of Esther titled "Hadassah" It is about a young, orphaned beauty, raised up out of a persecuted minority to become the most influencial female in the land. It is not only an inspiring story taken from the pages of the bible and history but also stunningly acheived with state of the art cinematography and visual effects. Then there is the story of Marie Antoinette who is raised as royalty betrothed to a wealthy French King at 14 and goes on to become the most infamous female figure of the French revolution, beheaded by the enraged mob for her "let them eat cake" ingnorant attitude for the starving poor.
The contrast of the simular situation of these queens points to the salient issue of parenting in America today. How you might ask? Well, we are all familiar with the Princess culture we have created. All little girls are inundated with princess stories, Disney, fairytale and otherwise from toddlerhood on. But even though true royalty is not at issue here, the little tyrants it creates are. I want my daughter to feel lovely, special, and like a little princess, that is not the problem. I tell my kids, by the worlds' standard, if you live in America, you are rich. I want to train my little rulers to reign as benevolent royalty, seeing the influence they can have as a calling "For such a time as this" like Esther, not as a spoiled tyrant like Marie. How?... What do you think?

In the News...

This last two weeks have been very busy. I got my first interview and news paper write up. It was in the Lubbock Avelanche Journal, Friday, Oct 20th. You can search the Gown at Lubbockonline.com. You may have to sign up to get on. I also agreed to have a signing event at Barnes and Noble on Nov 12th 2:30-4:30. They offered to send out invites. Send me your address if you wish to be put on the list.

Mardel signing a fun event

Many blessings this seventh day of October, when the Royal Hendersons plus Princess Hines(next door neighbor seen at Maddy's birthday party right) paraded down to Mardels, gaving out princess rings and book marks. We even sold a few books too. For all those praying for us, thank you. For those who missed the event, we have several more events this month.
1. Next weekend, we will be at the McMurry Homecoming and a book signing is scheduled Saturday Oct 14th 10 am at the Theta Chi reunion in the lobby of the newly renovated Martin Residence Hall. My longtime friend and suite-mate, Josephine will join me.
2.Then, on Oct 21st, at the Odessy bookstore on Broadway in Lubbock I will be signing books and offering dream interpretation. Why, you asked? Because the first chapter of the book is a biblically inturpreted dream of a re-current nightmare from my own childhood. Cool, huh?
3.Monday evening, Oct 30th, the Godeke Library, (off Quaker near the loop) will host the Royal Hendersons in a Medival Castle party, featuring a Veggie Tale movie and readings from books of my choice. More info to come soon.
We also are already scheduling November events. Blessings deb

First Event

Maddy and I Kick off our Book Promotional Month by getting all dressed up and doing a story time at the Mahon Library with 4 and 5 year olds. It is Wednesday, Oct 3rd form 10-11. Join us if you can.