The Sheepish Scribe

“What are you doing?”

“I’m on a quest.”

“What’s a quest?”

“It means I’m searching for something important.”

Milly looked around the barn’s dim interior. Feeble sunlight funneled through cracks and painted random patterns on the dark walls. She cocked her head and focused on Dance who continued to paw through the deep bedding.

“What can you find in the straw that’s important?”

“The right place.”

Milly perked her ears and moved closer but the older ewe walked away and began the pawing in a new spot. Poking her nose in the straw, Milly sniffed and shook her head. It was just bedding, the same as it had been for the past month since the shepherd shut the barn door against the howling winds and blowing snow. She lifted a hind hoof and scratched behind her ear.

“You look troubled.”

“I don’t understand, Mama. Dance says she’s on a quest but she’s just digging in the straw.”

Mingle nodded and stood shoulder to shoulder with her yearling daughter.

“She is. Her time draws near.”

“Her time for what?”

“Her time to give birth.”

“Why can’t she give birth anywhere? The barn is big, there is plenty of room.”

“She searches for a place where the cold drafts don’t reach, a place where the bedding is deep and soft, a place that smells welcoming to her newborns.”

“How will she know the right place?”

“She will know it when she finds it. Some things are hard to explain. When that happens we must rely on what we know inside. Next year, when your time comes, you will know too.”

“How will I know?”

“The Creator of the universe gave you what you need to be who you are. The quests you must make in this life have answers. Trust that He will guide you to what you need when you need it.”

Milly watched as Dance shook herself and bent her knees, folding down onto the straw with a sigh. She tipped her head back and burped up a cud of hay to chew, her eyes half closed, ears relaxed.

“When you’re in the right place, doing the right thing, you will have that level of contentment as well.” Mingle looked at Milly and nodded. “Time spent searching is worth the reward of finding the right answer.”


This post is part of Christian Writers’ January Blog Chain on the topic, “Quest.” Check out the other Quest posts by clicking the links at right.

Every family has special birthday traditions and almost all of them involve cake. Our family is no exception. My darling husband does his best to spoil me in every way on my birthday. He knows that my favorite cake is angel food. Not that nasty box mix stuff or some sticky imitation from the store, I love mine made from scratch. The very thought freshens my salivary glands.

My husband has a different reaction…he starts to sweat. Once a year, homemade angel food cake takes on the proportions of Mount Rushmore for him. The idea of separating a dozen eggs whites from both their yolks and their shells looms as the most daunting of challenges. The recipe card printed with “folding” and “stiff peaks” and something as foreign as “cream of tartar” trembles in his calloused hand.

But he does it. He worries and fusses and leaves more fallout in the kitchen than a small nuclear bomb, but he does it. Why? Because it matters. It matters more to him than it does to me because it’s an expression of his love for me.

Stepping outside our comfort zone for the sake of a loved one is a risk. We risk failure and looking foolish. We risk disappointing the one we want to please and impress. Oh, but the rewards we stand to gain!

If we fail, our loved one will appreciate the effort and the love behind our actions. If we look foolish we can share a moment to laugh together. Both scenarios are good for the growth of the relationship. If we achieve our goal we make our loved one feel special, cared for, and cherished. What price can we put on that?

If we love Christ, we may be called to move outside our comfort zone for Him. Are we willing to step out on faith, putting ourselves in a position to fail or look foolish? If Christ is the One we’re trying to please, to show our love for, then only His reaction to our attempts matter. Opportunities to leave our comfort zone for Him are opportunities to grow the most important relationship we’ll ever have.

I know how adorable my sweetheart is, standing in the kitchen amid a mushroom cloud of flour with powdered sugar on his chin. Imagine how adorable we appear to Christ when we step out on faith to please Him. It might be messy, we might fail, we might look foolish to those around us, but in His eyes…we’re adorable.

Deceptive Promises (Delaware Brides Series #3) by Amber Stockton

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This is the third in the series. Margret Scott is the daughter of Elanna and Madison Scott. She is 14 years old when she meets a colonial spy serving in the British Army. On their second chance meeting, he confides in this young teenager that he is a spy. That strained any believability for me and the whole story fell apart there. The characters muddle through years of secret meetings and sappy correspondence and never seem to mature past the opening. I did finish the book but I can't recommend it.

Quills & Promises by Amber Stockton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The second in the series, Elanna Hanssen is the daughter of Raelene and Gustaf. Elanna meets a handsome soldier just before he leaves to fight in the French and Indian War. Always a writer, Elanna starts a long correspondence with Major Scott. Her faith in him is shaken when a journalist reports the bad behavior of Major Scott. Can her feelings be trusted through the distance and years? A good read with good history tucked inside.

Promises, Promises by Amber Stockton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The first in a series this one is also the best. Raelene Strattford finds herself a young woman alone in a new country with a farm to run. Gustaf Hanssen made a promise to her dying father to help her. Raelene resents his help as well as his insistence that she needs to turn back to God. A good story with interesting and believable growth of both characters. I highly recommend this one.

In the Shadow of Evil by Robin Caroll

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a book I almost didn't read because of the cover. The cover looks borderline occult-ish to me and paired with the title - I almost passed it up. But I'm glad I didn't! The story is well worth reading, it's a lively romp with plenty of suspense!

Layla Taylor's life is turned upside down when her award winning building project goes up in smoke. Maddox Bishop is the detective sent to find out why the house was burned... with a body inside. More disaster awaits and casts Layla as a likely suspect, but Maddox can't believe she's guilty when his heart gets involved.

(Disclaimer: I swiped this from an e-mail and didn't check with Snopes.com first!)

Christmas Cookie Rules...

1. If you eat a Christmas cookie fresh out of the oven, it has no calories because everyone knows that the first cookie is the test and thus calorie free.

2. If you drink a diet soda after eating your second cookie, it also has no calories because the diet soda cancels out the cookie calories.

3. If a friend comes over while you're making your Christmas cookies and needs to sample, you must sample with your friend. Because your friend's first cookie is calories free, (rule #1) yours is also. It would be rude to let your friend sample alone and, being the friend that you are, that makes your cookie calorie free.

4. Any cookie calories consumed while walking around will fall to your feet and eventually fall off as you move. This is due to gravity and the density of the caloric mass.

5. Any calories consumed during the frosting of the Christmas cookies will be used up because it takes many calories to lick excess frosting from a knife without cutting your tongue.

6. Cookies colored red or green have very few calories. Red ones have three and green ones have five - one calorie for each letter. Make more red ones!

7. Cookies eaten while watching "Miracle on 34th Street" have no calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel.

8. As always, cookie pieces contain no calories because the process of breaking causes calorie leakage.

9. Any cookies consumed from someone else's plate have no calories since the calories rightfully belong to the other person and will cling to their plate. We all know how calories like to CLING!

10. Any cookies consumed while feeling stressed have no calories because cookies used for medicinal purposes NEVER have calories. It's a rule!

So, go out and enjoy those Christmas Cookies - we only get them this time of year! Merry Christmas & Happy New year 2012