Oh! Susanna Has An E Book!

Now Available in E-book

Exciting News!! My friend, Susanna Leonard Hill, author of many children's books is having a re-release of Can't Sleep Without Sheep in E-book format.  Here are the links to purchase:

iTunes (for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch)

Amazon (for all versions of Kindle)

Barnes&Noble (for Nook)

We are all super delighted at this announcement - it couldn't happen to a sweeter writer and encourager. And to help her promote this she is sponsoring a contest.  We've been invited to write a jingle or song or tweet, Facebook or blog about it.  You can see the full contest results here.

Susanna is always doing promotions and incentives for all of us children's book writers and illustrators, so we are happy to help her promote this E-book release of Can't Sleep Without Sheep.

The video below is my contribution.  Have fun watching and don't forget to sing-a-long.  The chorus is below the video.

CHORUS:   (to the tune of O My Darling Clementine)

O, Susanna!  O, Susanna!  O, Susanna Leonard Hill

Has an E-book about Sheep Book

You must buy it - yes, you will.

Thanks for watching!
Blessings on your day,
Laura (aka GrandmaMiller   http://www.grandmamiller.wordpress.com )

Living with Rabbits or How to Handle Irritation

Ziggy with his favorite chew toy.

My husband confessed the other day that he secretly snickers when I walk in the den and he hears, "RRRR.......RABBIT!!"  He knows the bunny has done something....chewed through a cord, eaten an important piece of paper, nibbled an art pencil, or knocked down the jar of food...and he has the nerve to find it amusing!

We have lived with a rabbit in the house going on 13 years now.  You'd think we would have ourselves trained by now.  We've owned two bunnies, Ziggy who lived for 11 years, and Sully who is almost 2.  These bunnies have been fun, engaging, charming little balls of PURE DESTRUCTION.  Both of them have eaten through computer and electrical cords, nibbled their way through piles of books, ripped open bags of rabbit food and hay (that were in cabinets they managed to open) as well as chewing their way through bedroom slippers, shoelaces, stuffed animals, and stripping wallpaper.

The rabbit ate my homework.!

WHY DO WE KEEP THE BUNNY?  Entertainment?  Fuzz Therapy?  It's not for the calming affect they have on me that's for sure.  I had an impulsive moment yesterday and bought blue nail polish.  I painted my fingers and then....I painted my toes.  As I was getting ready to write this I was standing in my bare feet in the den and I felt a nip and a nibble on my big toe.  The bunny was trying to eat the nail polish off my toe.   RRRR.....RABBIT!   I had to get up and put on slippers....which I hope he doesn't eat.

Scolding a bunny does not work.  Their expression never changes.  We've tried to rabbit proof things.  Cord covers, locks on cabinets, keep things off the floor, but occasionally something slips by the radar.  It's as challenging as having a toddler in the house. Interestingly this whole scenario reminded me of dealing with irritating people in our lives.  The person might be immediate family (not MY husband...), a relative, co-worker, or *gasp* church member, or just someone you meet while shopping, or dining - you know who I mean.    How do we handle the irritation?

There is only once when Jesus got irritated enough to yell. (Matthew 21:12-13) This was because the temple of His Father was being profaned.  But there were many times when the Pharisees were murmuring against him or trying to trip him up with sly questions.  Jesus, however, maintained his calm, answered respectfully, and showed love, even while on the cross, "Father, forgive them..." (Luke 23:34).

How do we follow Jesus' example?   Philippians 4:5 says, "let your moderation [gentleness] be known to all men."  Again we see gentleness mentioned here, "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient" (2 Timothy 2:24).    But how can I achieve this level of kindness or gentleness?  How can we bite back bitterness or anger?

Some years ago I attended a workshop on puppet ministry.  Patty was the leader's name and she made a profound impact on my spiritual life by one simple statement.  She was telling us that in starting a ministry for the Lord we needed to be prepared for conflict.  She told us that when they started their puppet ministry, Growing Vines, a man from their church came and said he thought that it was a waste of time and money for such a foolish venture and did not see how silly puppets could tell the Gospel. There were many of us in the group that gasped audibly.  Then she said to us, "I am so glad I was 'prayed up,' or I would have answered in anger."  Prayed up.  Prayed up.

  ^"And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he [Jesus] went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." (Mark 1:35) If Jesus, being God, still needed to take time to pray about his day, how much more do we need that solitary time to let God prepare us for our day?

The Growing Vines puppet ministry is still going strong.  And by the way, after seeing their first performance, the church member came up to Patty crying and apologized and said how wrong he was about the puppets.  

Have a blessed day - and get PRAYED UP!
Laura

P.S.  If you would like to see my favorite bunny book, Marshmallow, click here.
   And also - We keep the little irritating ball of fur because he is also one of God's creations that teaches me patience every day.  

Scared of Rejection?

"In the Garden"  by  Laura Miller  2012 (click to enlarge)

This  picture represents a technique I’d never tried before, but often admired.  It’s called negative painting.    I never understood how to do it until a recent lesson in Mark Mitchell’s How to Be A Children’s Book Illustrator.  It involves painting in layers from behind. You don't paint the object - you paint around it. There are also videos on YouTube that teach this. 

Sometimes it’s scary to try something new. I tend to be a perfectionist which often intimidates the creative flow.  Too often I procrastinate starting a piece of work because I’m tentative about color selection, or placement of characters, or successfully capturing a moment.  So time passes and a blank sheet of paper remains blank.

Often times we are inhibited in sharing the love of God because we fear rejection or failure, or not doing it right.  We say nothing and thereby achieve nothing for the Lord.  Or we turn from something we know God wants us to do because we fear failure.  We then fail because we never try.

What if Paul and Silas had remained silent?  I love the story of them singing in the jail cell (Acts 16). They had been arrested for preaching the Gospel, beaten and put in chains.  They could have chosen to be submissive and silent and hoped for the charges to be dropped in the morning.  But that night they sang and praised God so loudly all the other prisoners heard.  Then, when the earthquake released them from their chains they did not jump up and run.  They stayed.  As a result the keeper and his household were saved!  

Changing goals at my age I often hear myself saying,   What if I fail? What if other people think I’m foolish?   Winston Churchill once said, “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”  Another of my favorites is, “You always pass failure on the way to success,” from Mickey Rooney (now don’t pretend you’re too young to know who he is).  Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit was rejected 6 times, so she self-published (and you thought self-publishing was a new idea!). She was finally published by the London firm of Frederick Warne & company and according to them Beatrix Potter’s stories “have never lost their popularity. Today more than two million Beatrix Potter books are sold every year worldwide – which is four books every minute!”  

More importantly, when it comes to sharing the Gospel we do NOT have to FEAR FAILURE.   As Jesus prayed for Simon Peter  (Luke 22:32) , "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren,"  he continues to pray for us through the Holy Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:27).   It is always God's will for us to share the Gospel, so why do we worry especially when Jesus has and is praying for us?

So failure or rejection might happen but it is just part of the process.  If you speak for the Lord and receive a rejection remember it means "they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected [God] (1 Samuel 8:7) Don't obsess about being rejected.  Focus on the moment, the opportunity, go forward with confidence, singing and praising God! 

Leave a comment below and tell me how God has helped you overcome fear.  God Bless Your Day, 

Laura