George MacDonald was a Scottish author born in 1824. If you've not heard of him, maybe you've heard of the famous novelists whom he influenced...J.R.R. Tolkien, G.K. Chesterton, and C.S. Lewis.

One day in a train station, C.S. Lewis picked up a book by MacDonald and began to read. "A few hours later," said Lewis, "I knew I had crossed a great frontier." It was the fantastical story-telling of MacDonald that awakened Lewis's imagination to the prospect of faith.

G. K. Chesterton cited one of my favorite MacDonald books, The Princess and the Goblin, as a book that "made a difference to my whole existence." After reading it a third time and using it as my summer "Chick Chat" (a classic literature book club for women), I can say the same - it made a difference in my life!

The Princess and the Goblin is a classic fairy tale where the world is filled with good and evil. It is whimsical and wise--a Christian allegory illustrating the believer who sometimes doubts, yet still has faith to follow even when the path is counter-intuitive. He's such a masterful writer that an eight-year-old girl can be filled with wonder as she reads, and an eighty-year-old woman can be overwhelmed with the beauty and intrigue of the journey of faith we travel! Few things are as satisfying as a great book!

What's even better is being surrounded by family and celebrating my grandfather's one-hundredth birthday! Yes - you read that right - my grandfather turned ONE HUNDRED on July 17, 2007! His name is Lawson Jolly, Sr., but we all call him "Papa." He is hardly gray, barely needs glasses, just started to use a cane to walk (he doesn't like it since "canes are for old people") and drove a car until his 99th birthday! What a legacy of life, faith, and love that he has given to each of us!

The other highlight of July was the International Christian Retailers Show (ICRS). This year the ICRS was held at the Georgia World Congress Center. This was our sixth visit to this jammed-packed convention. I love it because it is all about books:


- People who write books
- People who publish books,
- People who sell books,
- People who advertise and market books,
- People who read books.

You get the idea - books, books, and books!

Some of the highlights included:

- Enjoying a leisurely coffee with Lisa Whelchel (one of my favorite women in the world) - where we discussed the value of friendship, balance, and vulnerability.

- Sharing a late night coffee with Bill Jensen (a bright literary agent and the man who first believed in me as a rookie author) - remembering the early days of working together.

- Eating homemade marshmallow s'mores with members of the Harvest House Publishing family at Restaurant Eugene in Atlanta.

- Visiting with Stormie Omartian and her husband Michael Omartian, the legendary music producer, whom I have followed since my teenage years.



- Wearing jeans to the convention this year rather than dressing up like usual...freedom!

The ICRS is like a family reunion! I appreciate all those who give their lives and their talents to give us good books.

"For books are not absolutely dead things, but...do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them... [He] who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God's image; but he who destroys a good book kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were, in the eye." - John Milton

So give these things a taste test:

1. The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

2. Celebrate something! Birthdays, family, summer, friendship, great books...you pick - just PARTY!

3. Homemade marshmallows smashed delicately within a gourmet s'more at Restaurant Eugene.

4. See a Photo Album of my fun at ICRS

Grab your favorite mug and pull up a chair! This fresh brewed thought is the second cup in a four-cup brew!

If you remember, last month I asked you to imagine yourself as a table with four legs. If even one leg of your table is insecure or damaged, you will be shaky and imbalanced. That's when it's easy to tip and fall into despair.

Last month, we looked at our "spiritual" leg. Now we are going to check out our "emotional" leg.

"Life is a train of moods like a string of beads," wrote Emerson, "and as we pass through them they prove to be many colored lenses, which paint the world their own hue, and each shows us only what lies in its own focus." That's a poet's way of saying that emotions are precious and powerful, but they have their limitations.

If you try to think with your feelings, for instance, you fall into all manner of false conclusions. When our minds take flight and our emotions take over, we get shaky. So shaky we might collapse or fall into despair. Emotions are supposed to serve and strengthen us. Left to themselves, however, they enslave and deplete us.

As a teenager, I was prone to moodiness. (I know you never were.) Once when my train of moods grew especially dark, my dad told me a story from his college days, hoping to snap me back into reality. One of the guys in his dorm, it seems, fell victim to a college prank. While he slept, his friends smeared his upper lip with Limburger cheese. When he awoke from his nap and realized it was time for class, the young man grabbed his books and hurried out the door with the other guys. On the way to class, he wrinkled up his nose and said, "It stinks out here." When the entourage passed a trashcan, he proclaimed, "That garbage is really rancid." Upon entering the classroom, he asserted, "This room reeks!"

The obvious application - his problem was right beneath his own nose! That was pretty much true when I was grumpy, sad, or angry. Our problems usually have less to do with our circumstances and more to do with how we choose to feel about that circumstance. All too often, the problem isn't "out there" - it's right under our noses. The emotional leg of the table gets shaky when it tries to bear the weight alone...as if it were the only leg designed to deal with the issues of life. When overworked and under too much pressure (especially when the table has fluctuating estrogen), the emotional leg ends up making the whole table unstable.

Remember...feelings aren't the same things as facts. They might feel real, but that doesn't mean they always correspond with reality. Now, I'm not suggesting we throw our feelings out and discount them. No way! Our emotions are valid, important, and a gift from God. Because they can be very powerful and very present, it's easy to believe they represent facts. That's when it's time to have a little interview with your soul.

"Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?" Ps 42:5

Ask your soul why, like the psalmist did. Go ahead. Your soul can handle it. In fact, your soul needs to think it through. The question of "why?" acknowledges that your emotions are real and they matter, but they might not be based on facts. It will also guide you - like an intuitive detective - toward discovering the real source of your feelings. You can also ask your soul, "Do I think with my feelings? Do my feelings serve me well, or am I their slave?" Questioning your soul allows you to honestly assess your emotions so you can calibrate them with truth...and tighten up that shaky leg.

Well, that's what's been percolating in me lately - two more legs to go!

- Jennifer

Question:

"I heard you speak recently and tell the story of mixing up your eye- and lip liner - what a great story! I was curious...anymore issues with your makeup or have you mastered it?"

From Anita K.

Answer:

As a matter of fact, I had another unfortunate make-up incident at one of my speaking events. I wrote about it in Lessons I Learned in the Light:

Because the story of my makeup mishap is familiar to so many, I completely blew off the constructive criticism that Lucy Swindoll offered to me one evening right before I went on stage at a Women Of Faith conference.

"Your eyes don't match," she flatly advised.

"Yeah, right!" I quipped. I was sure she was trying to capitalize on my story - or maybe just trying to keep me relaxed before I spoke.

"Very funny," I retorted.

But Lucy sounded completely serious. "No," she insisted, "really, one is black, and one is brown!"

"That's impossible!" I replied. That funny and mischievous Lucy was not going to get the best of me on this one! "Jennifer, I am serious," she said as maternally and authoritatively as possible. "Ask Nicole."

And so I turned to Nicole Johnson, the talented dramatist on the Women of Faith team, and before I could ask, she gasped, "She's right! One is black and one is brown!" I opened my make-up bag and sure enough, I had two different eyeliner pencils! One black, one brown. (Note to the visually impaired reader: Never carry two different shades of eye liner in the same makeup bag!)

So, have I mastered it? I think not!!

And now, the beans are officially spilled!

 

1. My time with God in the month of August is set apart to hear from Him about our ministry. Please pray that I hear clearly from Him and am able to communicate to our staff and volunteers the way God would have us walk by faith in the coming year.

2. I am seeking God about the timing of my next book project. I feel that He has led me to the book I will write, and now just the timing needs to be confirmed.

As always...What would I do without you?!

- Jennifer

Each month we will give away something from the JenniferRothschild.com Store. All you have to do is click on the link below, to let us know you were here. Your name will automatically be added to a random drawing to win.

This month's winner is Kim from Fort Smith, AR ('crsampson@...)

Kim wins the Walking By Faith Tote Bag that goes along with Jennifer's Walking By Faith Bible Study.

Congratulations! Kim, please email us your mailing address.

Twenty Percent Off and a FREE Sampler of Jennifer's September release of Self Talk, Soul Talk: What to Say When You Talk to Yourself

While Self Talk, Soul Talk won't hit bookstores until September, we'd love to send you a free, three-chapter printed sampler. Just purchase (almost) anything from the JenniferRothschild.com Bookstore and we'll include in your package, up to five copies of this three-chapter Sampler for you and your friends (just tell us how many in the comments box at check-out). Plus take 20% off your purchase by using this coupon code at check-out: twentyoff (all lower case)

Here is what one reader has already said:

"I just finished reading the sample booklet of Self Talk, Soul Talk and I can hardly wait to get the full book in September! I already know that I will be ordering 12 or more copies to give away as gifts.

"Thank you for sharing your life and wisdom with us, dear sister. This book is already on my 'favorites' list and I've only read the 'teaser.'"

- Susan K. from Pleasanton, CA

I hope you'll consider being one of my faith-walkin' Sole Sisters. I covet your prayers, and appreciate so much the things you do to spread the word about my message.

Here are just a few of the small things you can do to make a big impact.

• Email Five Friends (10 points)
• Join Soles Sisters (10 points)
• Write a Review at Amazon or Lifeway (10 points)
• Email us a Photo with You and a Friend (20 points)
• More

Here are a few Quick Links you might find helpful.

• About Jennifer Rothschild
• Video: My Story
• New, Jennifer Rothschild Store
• Subscribe to WomensMinistry.NET weekly eNewsletter
• Email Jennifer