From my kitchen to yours, best wishes for a very Merry Christmas! May you be blessed by the love of Christ.
Excitement from diverse places February 6, 2018
For an author to be without words is never a good thing, but AND today I am struggling to find the right words to describe the emotions coursing through me.
It started this morning when I woke up grumpy. I’ve been fighting some type of sinus/cold virus for almost a month and I’m at my wits end. I wanted to whine, but didn’t want to subject anyone I love to that self-pity so I cocooned in my room, putting away laundry and trying to pray.
When my cell phone started chirping with text after text I grabbed it in frustration, then smiled. A dear friend was announcing the release of her first book. She’s been working on this for quite some time and I’m delighted it has all come together. The multiple texts from other members of our writers group showed all were just as happy. Reports of orders being placed on Amazon warmed my heart and energized me to get dressed and head out the door.
It was 10:15 and I wanted to see how many people were already in town for the much anticipated SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Growing up during the Space Shuttle program, I admit I grew jaded with the crowds that tromped into town for launch days. Cars clogged the roads and every empty field along the river. Families wandered into the road without looking and causing us locals to be extra vigilant as we went about our daily lives. This morning, though, I reveled in the cars parked along the side of the road and the visitors milling around. I ached to stick around and be a part of this historic day, but work called and I had to get home to get ready.
Early birds get the best views
The large building across the river is the Vehicle Assembly Building. Until December there was a boat from Hurricane Irma where this RV now is
Be careful, eager spectators crossing!
By the time I arrived at the office, the launch had been pushed from 1:30 to 2:20 due to upper level winds. I felt a selfish sense of hope that the launch would be scrubbed and rescheduled to tomorrow when I would be home to see it. When the next delay pushing back to 3:45 was announced, again that selfish spirit perked up.
As 3:00 approached, I prepared to access the SpaceX livestream. The minutes ticked down and there was no announcement of another delay or a scrub so I chose to hope that all would go well. My pulse quickened when we reached five minutes before launch. I focused on my work until we were just under two minutes then my eyes couldn’t be torn from the video. Steam billowed around the three rockets strapped together and I clasped my hands in front of my face, whispering words of encouragement as if the machine could hear me.
With the last seconds my throat tightened and my breath caught. Would it fire? Would it rise off the ground? Would it explode on the spot or a few seconds into flight? Memories of Challenger gnawed at the back of my mind. The rocket rose higher and higher, three flames of fire blended into one. The excitement of the SpaceX team was tangible as each milestone was ticked off. I watched in awe, knowing how unheard of a successful test flight such as this is. I felt the tears gathering in my eyes and longed to share the excitement with a crowd of like-minded spectators.
The adrenaline has faded away and I think about how long it has been since the American people had a hope for exploration beyond our own planet. We have sent machines to gather data, but we need to send people to experience the outer regions first hand, to provide information only a human can express. Today, was the first step toward sending humans beyond the International Space Station and I feel an excitement that I hope you all can share.
In case you missed the launch, you can watch a replay below.
Traveling in the Clouds July 9, 2015
I had the pleasure of spending my Fourth of July weekend in North Carolina. The weather was 20-30 degrees cooler than
The rhododendrons were still blooming.
Florida and I basked in every minute of reprieve from the heat. Usually when I go to NC I spend most of the time working on my next book, but this time I only had time to cram in a few hours of work time.
Another Florida friend was already staying with my family and we had made arrangements to drop her off with her sister in Banner Elk, NC on July 2. This should have been about a 3-hour drive, but it ended up being more like 5 or 6 hours. I’m beginning to learn to be wary of anything that says it’s 3 hours. One day I’m going to be on a 3-hour trip and become the next Gilligan! (more…)
Laughter, Love, and Lemons February 3, 2014
Growing up, my family was part of a family life group at our church and the times we shared together were deeply ingrained on my subconscious. I don’t remember how old I was when the group started to drift apart for a variety of reasons, but then again, I am getting older and memories are harder to call upon.
However, I do remember the love, laughter, and feeling of safety of those nights singing and studying the Bible. I’ve measured every church group since then against the feeling that settled deep in my heart during those gatherings. (more…)
Bountiful Blessings July 16, 2012
Last week was a downpour of blessings upon my writing career, showing me how God’s plans for my life are far greater than my own. This post will be a bit longer than normal, but I hope you can forgive me as I really want to take a few minutes to share this experience.
On July 8, a review of my new book, Julianne, was published by Lonita Cook on the Kansas City Examiner website. Ms. Cook’s kind words for the story and writing style gave validation to my writing dream, but what really made my heart sing was how the reviewer really captured the essence of why I write, which is to tell stories that will minister to those who are already followers of Christ and provide a warm invitation to those who aren’t yet believers. However, it wasn’t just the positive review, the response to the review was also overwhelming. As of this writing, the article was shared via Twitter 149 times and Facebook 34 times. I hope these numbers are encouraging to Ms. Cook as well, because it is a testament to her own beautiful writing.
Just as the glow and excitement of the review were fading, I started my first giveaway via Kindle Direct Publishing’s Select program. On Wednesday and Thursday, July 11 and 12, my business manager and I worked to promote Julianne being available as a free download for Kindle. I admit I was expecting to get 20, maybe 50 downloads. When I first logged on Wednesday morning I was floored to see there had already been 193. When the promotion ended at 3:00am on July 13, a total of 1,749 books had been downloaded worldwide. The idea so many people chose a book I haven’t hesitated to promote as Christian fiction has given wings to my creative spirit. Since my first book sale, I made a commitment to myself to pray for each person who makes a purchase. This past week certainly made the prayer list longer, but I treasure each of those unknown lives.
Despite being emotionally and physically drained after all of this wonderful excitement, I had a taste for strawberry scones. I 
made them Sunday afternoon after getting caught up on all the mundane tasks pushed aside to focus on my marketing. They smelled absolutely wonderful in the oven and were the perfect end to a dream week. The recipe I used can be found here if you want to take advantage of the end of strawberry season yourself.
Rebekah Lyn's Kitchen 