Life in the Fast Lane

Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth (Psalm 46:10).

Most of us live a hurry-up, rush-rush life. There's fast food, automated teller machines, convenience stores, drive through windows, and other measures aimed at customers with busy life-styles. New inventions and technology seem to make life easier but much more hectic.

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought of the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself,... (Matthew 6: 25 & 33-34).

Stress is at an all time high. The American Stress Institute tells us that 44% of Americans say they feel more stressed today than they did 5 years ago, and that's with all the baby-boomers retiring. One out of five people admit to having extreme or debilitating stress. Three out of four doctor's visits are for stress-related illnesses. It increases the likelihood of heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. It causes overeating, insomnia, and shrinks the brain. It's estimated that stress costs our country $300 billion dollars each year in medical bills and lost productivity.

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower (Psalm 18:2).


Maybe this is one of the reasons waiting on the Lord seems so hard to us. We're not used to being still. In fact, if we think we might have to wait, most of use pull out our smart phones, pads, or e-reader. But God tells us to do just that - to wait on Him. He also set a day aside each week to be a day of rest and worship, because He knew we would need that.

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord (Psalm 27:14).

Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord...(Exodus 31:15).

God never meant for us to join the rat race, and we don't have to when we find our rest in him. If we surrender to Him, He will direct our paths, and they won't turn into race tracks.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:6).

Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path...(Psalm 27:11).

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Writing Historical Fiction

My grandparents from Watauga County

I prefer reading and writing historical fiction, but writing it has its challenges. With my background in history (I was a history major in college at Appalachian State), I don't mind the research, until I run into gaps and snags. The internet has made information much more accessible, but I occasionally need a piece of information that I just can't find anywhere.

Wilkes Heritage Museum

This happened several times as I was writing my Appalachian Roots Series. I even visited Wilkes and Watauga Counties, North Carolina, to try to find some of it. Although I am writing fiction, I feel driven to be as historically accurate as possible. I tend to check and double check my information to make sure I'm not using terminology or items too modern for my time period. However, if there are some descriptive details I need to include in the story, and I can't find the facts, I'll fill in the gaps with my best (educated, I hope) guess, since it is fiction.

A recent example of trying to find the facts came when I was writing on my current manuscript set on the early Santa Fe Trail. I needed to know what Franklin, Missouri, looked like, but the town has been gone for almost 200 years. I could only find general information online, but no details. The libraries available to me had nothing I could use. I finally emailed some sites in Missouri, and a librarian at a state historical location copied and mailed me the exact information I needed. This portion in the book will only amount to about a paragraph or two, but I still wanted to get it right. I think my readers deserve that.

Because writing historical novels is so involved and time-consuming for me, I do write contemporary ones, too. It gives me a break from all the research. Although there's still some research involved, it's not as extensive. For now, however, I am working to get the four books in this Appalachian series published. Cleared for Planting is available now. The editor is reading through my revisions for Sown in Dark Soil. Hopefully the other two, Uprooted by War and Transplanted to Red Clay will follow. Then, I have eight more manuscripts already written, and I'm always working on another.

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Cotton Becomes King

If you've ever tried to pick seeds from a cotton boll, you know what a difficult task it can be. The seeds are stuck inside, as if they had been glued there. Eli Whitney would change how the cotton seeds were handled and thereby the cotton business forever.

He had been born in Massachusetts, but decided to visit the South as a young man. On the voyage, he met the widow of the Revolutionary War hero, Nathanael Greene, and she invited Whitney to her Georgia plantation. Her fiance, Phineas Miller, was also a Northerner and would become Whitney's business partner.

While on the plantation, Whitney felt sorry for the many slaves who toiled in the cotton fields. When he saw how hard it was for them to extract the seeds from the cotton so it could be used, he decided to help them out. In 1793, he invented the cotton gin, which could pull the seeds out.

Although Whitney's intentions were good, some feel that he hurt the slaves instead of helping them. His invention allowed the planters to grow and sell much more cotton than ever before. It also made the slaves in the fields more necessary. As a result, slavery became even more entrenched into the economy of the South. Most of the Southern states began to consider "King Cotton" as an essential part of their success.

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Marbles

Marbles of clay or stone had been around for ages, but they didn't become hugely popular until a German glassblower came up with a way to make them in 1846. Then, in Akron Ohio, S. C. Dyke developed a method of producing several at one time in the early 1890's. Around the turn of the century, a number of American companies were manufacturing them.

There are many games that can be played with marbles, but I only remember playing two. In the common one, a circle is drawn in the dirt, and everyone antes up one or more marbles, which are placed in the center. The players take turns shooting from outside the circle, and they keep any they knock out. If some are hit but not knocked out, they're left where they land. If the shooter doesn't make it out, it stays there, too, and its owner must produce another marble to shoot with. Many use a larger marble for the shooter. I wasn't the best marble player, but I never lost many of my marbles and usually walked away with a few more than I came with.

The second game I only vaguely remember, because I rarely played this one. It involved throwing a marble to hit an opponent's marble and didn't have a circle drawn. I can remember I didn't like to play it as well, but I don't remember the rules.

In Uprooted by War, the third manuscript in my Appalachian Roots Series, Patrick gets some marbles for a Christmas present one year. They were certainly available around the time of the Civil War. Children played with them for years. However, with video games, I'm not sure these games will ever be really popular again.

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The Single Brothers' House

The Moravians were a group of Protestants whose religion originated in Germany and the Czech Republic. Quite a few, especially the Germans, immigrated to the colonies to have more freedom of worship. Many settled in Pennsylvania, but some also came to North Carolina.

In early Moravian communities, single men often lived, learned, and worked together. You can see an example of this in historic Old Salem in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Single Brothers' House is one of my favorite places there. Originally there was also a Single Sisters' House in Salem.

The building for the single brothers was first constructed in 1769, and an addition was added in 1786. It housed the group (called a "choir") of Moravian single men. They worshipped, lived, and some rented space for their workshops there. They also raised a garden and had a bakery. Today you can see where they worshipped and tour the craftsmen at work in the shops. It is truly a step back to the past.

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Murfreesboro

Located in the Inner Banks Region of Eastern North Carolina in Hertford County, Murfreesboro is a small town with big charm. History enthusiasts, like me, will love the place. 

Of course, the first residents here were Native Americans from groups such as the Meherrins, Chowanokes, and Nottoways. John White's expedition was the first Europeans to visit the area in the 1600's. The first land grant in the area was given to Henry Wheeler in 1714 and included what would become

Robert-Vaughan House - Now the Historical Association &
Chamber of Commerce

Murfreesboro. In 1754, the General Assembly gave Murfree's Landing the status of being a King's landing, where imports and exports would be inspected by an official from the court. Although the area had grown earlier, the town was founded in 1787.

Flanagan House Bed & Breakfast

Today, the town consists of around 2,000 permanent residents. Many of the houses and buildings show it's history. It's also home to Chowan University established in 1848. (See my former blog on it.) Because of it's love of history and quaint charm, Murfreesboro also has retirees moving into the area. In my opinion, it's a town worth exploring.

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Summer Dog Sledding

With popular dog sled races like the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest, the sport has garnered more and more interest through the years. In fact, some years it has even appeared in the Winter Olympics as a demonstration sport but has yet to become an official event. It's especially followed in countries with an arctic region, such as the United States, Canada, Russia, and several European countries.

Training for such an event is grueling and often done year-round. Of course, in the summer months, training on snow is not always convenient. Therefore, there are summer training camps, where the dogs pull special sleds on dry land without snow. My husband and I were privileged to visit such a camp two summers ago.

The dogs at the camps came from various breeds and mixes. They also raised puppies there. The staff encouraged visitors to handle the puppies to get them used to people early, so they wouldn't be too distracted or anxious in a race. I must say, handling the cute critters was one of my favorite parts of the day. I'm a dog lover, so it almost made me want to take one home. Almost. Pets can prove a problem for avid travelers who move around a lot or have too many stretches away from home. I appreciated the care this center seemed to give their dogs, however.

Riding on the dog sled was fun, too, and it made me long to do it on snow. However the Alaskan day was cold enough as it was, and we bundled up from the cold drizzle and chilling breeze. Is this really June?

I've had many thrilling adventures as I've traveled the world. But the day at the summer dog sled training camp stands out as part of my journey to Alaska. If you ever get the chance, be sure to check it out.

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