Book Club

Are you in a book club? I am. This is my 3rd shot at a book club; does that make me a serial bookclubber?

My first book club was the McKinney Woman Magazine book club. I went, and no one talked to me. I knew no one, and when I approached people to introduce myself, I got "that look." You know, the look that says "Who are you?? Do I know you?? I'm pretty sure I don't want to know you..." Good book-oriented conversations though....

The second book club I was in got through one book, and then we could no longer find time to get together.

This brings us to the third book club. I was so desperate to find a book club, a good friend of mine finally told me that her sister was in one, and would I please quit crying about not having a book club if she introduced us??? I called Jackie the minute I got the go-ahead from Christy, and only stalked her a little bit before she called me back.

I got the invite, and I'm so glad! Have you ever hung out with a group of people who are different from you, but you totally love them? This group is that way. They're all moms with kiddos in elementary school, and here I am, not even preggo yet. They've got serious grown-up jobs, and here I am, trying to make a go of my own creative studio. But they are so much fun!! None take themselves too seriously, which is quite refreshing.

On to the books... which are, hmmm, interesting. We've read quite a wide variety since I joined the group back in September:

Julie & Julia (okay- the French food we had at the meeting was the best part)
The Shack (really thought-provoking and good)
The Lost Symbol (great book, but not as good as Da Vinci Code)
Kissing Santa Claus (chose not to read this slutty Santa book) ;-)
Summer at Tiffany (very fun!)
You Can't Drink All Day If You Don't Start In The Morning (this month's selection)

I feel blessed to have found this group of ladies!!! Thanks for letting me join you!! You make my 2nd Tuesdays so exciting!

Claiming the Lord's Power

I'm not a Bible-beating crazy person. Until somewhat recently, I've been very closed-lipped about my faith. I consistently feel the Lord pressing me to speak out in certain situations, and I'm growing. Until recently, I thought that anyone who claimed they were "healed" by the Lord was nuts, and speaking in tongues? Are you kidding me?!

I've learned, however, that my God is far bigger than the box I try to put him in. If He wants me to start speaking Japanese tomorrow, you better believe that He can make that happen! I've learned that for His glory, there is nothing that is impossible.

I read this story today, and I get shivers when I watch the tape. See this link. This "crazy" lady called on the Lord, and claimed His power for herself. She commanded a robber to leave her store, in the name of Jesus. And he left. Sure, he was probably taken aback by this big-haired Texas woman's assertiveness and realized she wouldn't give him one red cent and so he left.

But there is such awesomeness waiting for us when we call out to the Lord. What have I missed because I was too afraid or too skeptical to claim what the Lord's promised me?

On the same note, how cool is it that this story made it into the news?? This lady talking about Jesus, and His spirit... The Lord truly does work in mysterious and incredible ways.

You Are SOOO Stalking Me...

I know you're stalking me. You can't deny it, because I have proof that 19 people have read my last blog post. I know that 17.06% of my blog readers hop over here from one of my high school friend's blog, and another 15.88% come from Blogger.com itself. I can tell you that on December 16, I had 16 people visit my blog.

The reason I know all of this is because I've added Google Analytics to my blog. I was actually using my blog as a testing ground for tracking statistics for my clients. Anywho, I find all of this information fascinating. AND, I know that you're stalking me. SOOO, if you want to know who's stalking you, follow the following instructions:

Go to http://www.google.com/analytics/

Sign into Google Analytics with your Google Account.

Once you have signed in you will be taken to a page that asks you to “Click on the Sign Up button to get started.”

Click on the ‘Signup’ button to be taken to the ‘Signup’ page.

Next: Enter the URL of the site you wish to track, and assign a name as it should appear in your Google Analytics reports.

Once you have done this and clicked on continue, you will be taken to a page that asks for your First name, last name, home phone and Country. Fill out the details and click continue.

Next you will be taken to the Terms of Service Page. Put a check mark in the “Yes, I agree to the above terms and conditions” box and click on the button that says “create new account.”

Once you have created your account you will be taken to the tracking instructions page.

Copy the HTML ’snippet’ of Code.

• Sign into Blogger
• Click on the Layout Tab
• Click on Edit HTML

Put a check mark in the box next to ‘Expand Widget Template’.

It’s always a good idea to back up your template before you make any changes.

Click on Download Full Template to back up your template and save a copy onto your computer.

• Scroll down through the template code and paste the tracking code just before the body tag.
• Click on Save Template at the bottom of the screen.

Once you have added the tracking code to your ‘Blogger Template’ go back to Google Analytics and click on continue.

That’s it. You have successfully installed Google Analytics on your Blogger Blog. Google Analytics should be now gathering data about your blog visits.

Please note that Google Analytics generally updates your reports every 24 hours. You may want to check back the next day to familiarize yourself with the different reports.

Good luck!