Saturday’s grand opening at the Roanoke Library was busy and fun. 23 authors all in one place with a variety of genres. Afterward, Alice Eshelman hosted the group of artists for lunch at The Emporium.

The generous authors donated copies of their books to the library, so readers can check out the award-winning titles including young adult book Dimensions by Estee Wells (pictured reading a book to a young visitor), Christy award winner Tiger in the Shadows by Debbie Wilson, and newly released The Patent by Max Garwood (pictured here) and Joseph Chamberlain Henry.

The library was a community project, built by donations.

This Saturday, May 4 is the grand opening of the Roanoke Library on Main Street with 16 authors meeting the public and signing books. Estee will be signing Dimensions, Max Garwood is signing The Patent, Debbie Wilson is signing Christy Award winner Tiger in the Shadows, and Mary Coons is doing illustrations for the kids. Other great writers are Karen Lenfestey, and Marsha Wright with her book andcopies of the made for TV movie about her book, Wings for Maggie Ray. Also in attendance are Kayleen Reusser, Doris Rapp, Lynette Bleed, Donna Rich, Rachel Sherwood Roberts,
Nathan Marchand (fantasy), Jude Urbanski, Sharon Davy, Mary Lou Rigdon, Johnine Brown and Margaret Yoder, Bonnie Manning and her dog Martha Washington, Pete Partin (Marek Storm), and local crime writers Johnine Brown and Margaret Yoder, Janet Dean, and Ann Staadt.
The event begins at 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Come meet authors of every genre from children’s books and illustrators to young adult to fantasy to suspense to romance to historical, inspiration, and biographies. It’s all here!

Horses have a navicular bone in their hooves. I know because my daughter barrel races and that is an injury that can slow a fast horse.

People have a navicular bone, too. Who knew? The orthopedic doctor pointed it out on the x-ray when my daughter Lilyanna broke hers playing basketball. Our kids do teach us stuff. Like that there are water-proof casts now. Lilyanna was able to swim with her cast on during Spring Break.

Got Lilyanna’s cast off the other morning. As she is rubbing the dry, sad skin from her wrist, the doc told her that 90 percent of dust is actually human skin.

“Oh my,” I said. “I think there is a naked man behind my couch.”

Spring Break with the cast.

Speaking tonight, 7:00 p.m. at Forest Park United Methodist Church on the topic of human trafficking. I co-authored The Slave Across the Street with Theresa Flores, her true story of an upscale Detroit teen caught up in human sex trafficking. You are invited to attend and bring a friend.

http://amzn.to/11hia0f

Forest Park United Methodist Church

2100 Kentucky Ave Fort Wayne, IN 46805
(260) 484-6696

Thank you for your prayers!

In honor of my recent WBCL radio interview with Ron Deal of Smart Stepfamilies, tell me your fun idea for dating with children. If your suggestion is the one my children like best, you win a copy of Rediscovering Your Happily Ever After.

Send your suggestion by April 16!

To listen to the archived one-hour Mid-morning program about single parents and dating, visit www.WBCL.org.

Fun dates for single parents and their kids will be compiled and posted on this blog.

What activities make you smile and get a thumbs up from your children?

There is something refreshing about the beach. And invigorating. I can’t go to the seashore without thinking about a Clive Cussler novel.

Even better is sharing the experience with beloveds. The more I am with my children the more I am thankful for the delightful people they are. Each has unique strengths and personality, and each is my grandest treasure.

This surprised me when I opened the freezer today to retrieve pie shells for tonight’s dinner quiche. Yes, those are shoes. At least they are in a plastic bag. Apparently, according to my teenager, giving Sperrys a time-out in the freezer shrinks stretched out leather back to an original fit. 

Who knew?

What goofy things have your teens done this week?

As a Christian, you and I are daughters of the King. We are princesses. Royalty. Biblically we are joint heirs with God’s only son, Jesus Christ, saved and redeemed, the temple of the Holy Spirit. Our name is written in the Lamb’s book of life, and you and I are destined for eternal life. Culturally as women we have the right to vote, get a higher education, earn an income, have a career, own property, manage a business, employ others, and travel. You and I have the right to expect and demand honorable treatment from those around us including romantic interests.

You and I have permission to dress modestly, comfortably, and attractively simultaneously. I don’t have to dress suggestively to get a guy’s attention or prove I am sexy. We don’t have to prove anything to anyone. Loved by God, we are enough.

You have permission not to be anyone’s all-in-all, not to have to keep the universe functioning, not to be anyone’s savior. That job is already taken by Jesus Christ.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery,” says Galatians 5:1 With our identity secure in Jesus Christ, we are no longer slaves to our bodies, our relationship status, our career, our friends, or our heritage. We are free to run into the welcoming arms of the Lord and call, “Abba Father.”

The most asked question of single parents when they consider dating is when do they introduce a date to the children?

Children have had their world turned upside down. Someone significant has left. Will introducing them to a date be upsetting when that date doesn’t stick around?

Another little-addressed issue is that we must be ultra vigilant about who we allow to come into contact with our children. Boyfriends, stepdads, stepbrothers, and their extended family and friends don’t have familial feelings toward our children. I know of too many cases where these men were sexually attracted to the daughters of the women they were dating. Many daughters have a huge need for male approval since their dads exited and these lovely young ladies don’t have the maturity to discern the difference between healthy attention and selfish motives.

It is our job to protect our children. Women often pretend they are unaware of what is going on right under their noses when in reality they know something is amiss. Tragically, I’ve seen it happen over and over again. Never should my need for a man in my life cause me to compromise the safety and purity of my children.

Meet with your date in public places for a period of time. Observe this person in a variety of settings including church and with your friends and his friends. Listen to the observations of family and friends. Once you are confident this person is a positive influence, bring the children into the equation.

While there may have been brief encounters such as seeing each other at church, make the first meeting with the children centered around them. Go out for ice cream sundaes, play mini-golf, laser tag, or another activity that the children enjoy. Allow the process of getting to know each other to be slow and natural. Don’t force anything. And listen to your child, acknowledge your child’s feelings. Remember that parents are often six months ahead of the children’s emotional readiness for their mom to begin dating.

Excerpted from Rediscovering Your Happily Ever After; Moving from hopeless to hopeful for the newly divorced mom