Shellie Rushing Tomlinson

A Recipe and a Love Story for Valentine’s Day

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 23:20:40 +0000

Hey y’all, with Valentine’s Day approaching in the middle of the work week, I woke up this morning with a game plan. After getting a ton of Saturday to-dos out of the way, I got busy searching for something super chocolatey to make for my man! Here’s the finished product:

Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Caramel Sweetheart Brownies

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

one cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt cocoa and butter on low. Transfer to a mixing bowl and cream together with sugar. Gradually blend in eggs one at a time. In separate bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into chocolate mix. Add nuts and vanilla extract. Stir gently. Spread into greased 8″ square pan and bake at 350 degrees for twenty minutes. Top with scoops of ice cream and swirl with chocolate and caramel syrup. Yum!

And here’s that love story I promised…

I was midway through my senior year of high school, counting the days until I could start what I considered my real life in an out-of-state college. I planned to study broadcast journalism and travel the world telling important life changing stories. I remember telling my mother that I’d never marry a farmer and I’d never live in our small town. (As a farmer’s daughter who was weary of praying for it to start raining and then praying for it to stop raining, I was bent on marrying a nine-t0-fiver and living some place else, any place else.) Mama cautioned me not to be so adamant about what I wouldn’t do because I might end up eating my words. I laughed. Mama laughed last.

I write these words from my home in that same small town, the wife of one hard-working farmer. At any given time of the farming season you can find me praying for it to start raining or stop raining– and I would do it all over again. But to tell that story, we’ll have to go back to that senior year and the girl who fell in crazy, instant got-to-be-with-this-one-forever love with a college boy who had graduated mid-term and came home to join his dad on the family farm.

The Blond caught my eye driving around town in his blue pick-up truck. Who was this?! Soon I was circling a few extra times after cheerleader practice with my eyes peeled for his vehicle. I may have even begun stalking him, but no one has ever produced proof on that.

One night shortly thereafter I was warming up before a basketball game when one of my classmates told me The Blond was coming to watch me play. Me! Somehow he had gotten wind of my interest. Imagine that. I accused my buddy of lying just to aggravate me. (There was plenty of precedent.) He assured me that he wasn’t. I dismissed him but I couldn’t dismiss the thought, which is why I continued to scan the crowd during the game. It’s also why I managed to catch a glimpse of The Blond standing at the gym entrance while I was dribbling down the court! By now I had the scoop on my mystery man. I knew his name. I knew his life story. I knew he had graduated from my own alma mater as a multi-sport star athlete. This was my moment. I would shine, I would score, (the goal people, the goal), I would dribble the ball off of my own foot and watch it roll slowly, embarrassingly straight towards The Blond. Sigh.

The rest is history we’re still writing. The Blond and I have had to overcome our share of hurdles, beginning with my parents’ early resistance to an Older Man wanting to date their baby daughter– remind me to tell you how he charmed their socks off, too. It wasn’t the last hurdle in our relationship, of course, but thirty years into this thing we’ve gotten better at clearing ‘em.

I’m not a famous journalist but through the unwavering, loving support of The Blond, I have found a way to tell my stories, and the last few years I’ve done a whole lot of traveling while I’m at it. Dreams do come true. Sometimes our job is just to recognize when it happens.

Hugs, Shellie

Have any of your dreams come true?

The All Things Southern Super Show — it’s almost here!

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:41:44 +0000

Hey, y’all! Sometimes I wonder how it is that I get involved in the Lucy Ricardo escapades that seem to be a regular part of my life. This would be one of those times…

Several weeks ago an opportunity was presented to me to host my own thirty minute TV special (on Super Bowl Sunday at that!) and to possibly produce a regular weekly talk show. Not having the good sense to be intimidated, my only trepidation was the short time I would have to tape the first show.

In a perfect world HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHA, excuse me, I would’ve loved the time to plan and rehearse, plan and rehearse, and plan and rehearse until I was sure that I was presenting the best show I could possibly offer. (Did I mention I would’ve liked to plan?!)

Instead, I had to use the weekend travel time on my way to and from speaking at the Cowgirl Convention 2012 in Tyler, TX to sketch out the show, set up an interview, decide on a cooking segment, write a spoof of the ESPN commentators (called ATSN), and rope in several ~~suckers~~ friends to help me pull it all off the following Monday!

To say that it was easy to get up to speed reading the teleprompter, taking hand signals from the camera men, and talking to the correct camera in ONE morning without any practice time or run-throughs would require a big fat lie that I’m not willing to tell. And yet– this silly belle had fun, big fun! It was sort of smooth in some parts and sort of rough in others but I’m hoping my southern viewers will decide that it averages out and enjoy the effort in a “Bless her heart, she’s willing to put herself out there, isn’t she?” kind of way.

The All Things Southern Super Show will air tomorrow morning, Feb. 5th at 10:00 A.M. on NBC 10 right before they start their “road to the Super Bowl coverage”. (I’m asking folks who would normally be at church to DVR it and not to dare miss church! I don’t want that on my conscience! I hope to have the whole show online soon for my out-of-town friends on new media site that’s under construction. Right now local viewers, here’s the deal: We’ll be deciding whether or not to do a regular show based TOTALLY on your FEEDBACK. So…if you enjoy the show, I need you to call KTVE at (318) 323-1972 or leave a message on their Facebook wall and let them know. (Actually, I suppose out of towners that can’t see the show could also call that number and write on their wall to help me gauge the interest and plan the next step.) THX, y’all, we’ll see what happens from here!

Hugs, Shellie

Special thanks to those friends: Rodney Ray, Stacy Thornton, Rhonda Perry, Chrys Howard and Jenny Remsberg! I appreciate y’all~

There once was a Pulpwood Queen…

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:08:03 +0000

There once was a Pulpwood Queen

who held a booklovers’ dream.

Authors and readers converging as one

to celebrate story and have big fun.

There were lions and tigers and clowns, oh my!

with books upon books piled to the sky.

There’s none other like it

no event dare compare

to the Pulpwood Party and the Ball of Big Hair.

If time allowed I’d give you more verse

though

surely each line would get steadily worse.

For now I bid you a fond adieu,

until next year when it begins anew.

THE GILDED AGE I hear tell it shall be

bigger and better, with rare sights to see!

Come one, come all, to the booklovers’ dream –

Long live the readers and hail to the Queen!

Hugs, Shellie

Me and Percy, (Sledge, that is)

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:55:07 +0000

I enjoyed an invigorating worship session in my back yard this morning that I’m sure gave my neighbors cause to lock their doors. Back story: I like to rework and redeem secular songs, offering them up to God with an entirely new twist on the intent of the one who penned them. I’ve sang “Jesus, Jesus, I get down on my knees for you” for years. Go ahead. Laugh. He loves it.

This morning, I pulled a fast one on Percy Sledge. For the record, pun intended, the lyrics to “Cover Me” make a beautiful praise song, “Cover me, cover me, spread your precious love all over me.” This morning I performed that selection with my tennis racket as a stand in guitar. (I had the racket handy as I was trying to tire Dixie Belle out faster during what she prefers to be an endless game of fetch.) I’ll spare you an audio encore. But, I would like to get serious for a moment.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what is secular and what is sacred and where we as believers fit in both. More back story: I speak at all sorts of events, many of them Christian, some of them civic, or what might be deemed secular. My aim is to respect the wishes of the event planner. If I’m there for entertainment, I’ll give you laughs. If you want Jesus, I’m your girl. Both? I’m all in!

I used to enjoy the “sacred” events more than the secular ones, but, not any more. I’ve become convinced that it is important to be fully present in every moment of my life. If I pour myself wholeheartedly into a Christian event, but I don’t fully engage in a book festival, for example, I effectively divide, and therefore diminish the light that’s in me. The Bible says that light is for the highest hill, not the underside of a basket. You don’t have to play air guitar or wear a clown outfit, ( a la pic from this past weekend’s Pulpwood Queen Festival) but if you’re a believer, you are called to shine. However that looks on you, shine on.

Hugs,

Shellie

Are you thinking of secular lyrics that would play well as worship songs? Do tell!

Richard Paul Evans visits ATS LIVE

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:03:20 +0000

Hey y’all, I’m having this author of the show tomorrow. Bless his heart, maybe you’ve heard of him. His name is Richard Paul Evans. He’s only had all EIGHTEEN of his books become NYT’s bestsellers, four made into movies, and millions sold worldwide. I figured it was the least I could do to give him a leg up, you know? I mean, someone needs to give him a break and I’m nothing if not generous that way.

Join the conversation with us tomorrow, will you? ATS LIVE airs locally on Talk540 KMLB and streams LIVE through my website. Richard Paul, (am I supposed to call him one or the other or both, do y’all know?) will be with us to talk about his latest FASCINATING book, Michael Vey, Prisoner of Cell 25. And for what it’s worth, the fellow owes me a good night’s rest, y’all. I was going to scan this one the night before I left for the Pulpwood Queen to present my own recent release and it sucked me right on in. Stayed up half the night and read the whole thing in one gulp. Wow. More on that tomorrow. See y’all on the air.

Hugs,
Shellie

Pulpwood Queen Bound!

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:10:36 +0000

Pink feather hat, boa, tiara, clown outfit, marketing material– check,check, check, and oh mercy I’m sure I’m overlooking something! Yes, indeed, it’s that time again. This weekend I’ll return to the Pulpwood Queen’s Girlfriend Weekend Greatest Show on Earth in Jefferson, TX to present my latest book, Sue Ellen’s Girl Ain’t Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy! A veteran of this affair by now, one might think I would know what exactly what to expect and how to prepare.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Excuse me. I couldn’t help myself. The truth is, this is one event that refuses to fit in a box, any box. For illustration, I invite y’all to join me this weekend via this blog and my Facebook wall for real-time pictures. (Here’s one from a past year of me and my BFF dressed as rainbows for The Big Hair Ball!)

And speaking of pictures, I have a special one to leave you with right now, preceded by a song which you should count yourself fortunate to be reading instead of hearing yours truly perform in surround sound.

“Oh Pinterest, oh Pinterest, I do so love you, Pinterest…”

One of the activities during the weekend will be an auction where authors will donate any and all sorts of goods to be bidded on by the attending Pulpwood Queen book club members, proceeds going to charity. This year, I’ll be donating a little mat board that celebrates books, complete with a cool crackle finish. I created it with my own two little hands, idea courtesy of Pinterest. And if I must say so myself, (since y’all aren’t here to pat me on the back), I think it turned out really well.

What say you?

Stay tuned!

Hugs,
Shellie

Rob Hill from House of Hope, Tomorrow on ATS LIVE!

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:29:36 +0000

Every so often, my work here at All Things Southern affords me the opportunity to be the tiniest part of something so wonderful, the chance to interact with someone who epitomizes such faith, hope, and love, that it leaves me shaking my head and marveling at the privilege. Tomorrow will be such a day on ATS LIVE.

What happened in the life of this average, happily married young couple seen in the top picture…

…that led them to become people willing to leave their wealthy gated community and move into a small apartment with terrible plumbing to begin caring for the abandoned children of China…

…to take into their hearts and home hopeless infants with huge medical problems and turn over every stone to secure them life saving operations, all with the goal of seeing as many as possible placed in “forever families”…

How did their lives come to intersect with world renown gospel singer, Steven Curtis Chapman, and his family, to build Maria’s House of Hope, seen in the top photo here…

…all while raising their own large extended family?

We’ll discover all of these answers and more tomorrow evening on ATS LIVE when Robin Hill joins us to share the work he and his wife, Joyce, have been involved in for the last ten years? You won’t want to miss this one.

ATS LIVE airs locally from 5:00 to 6:00 PM on KMLB TALK 540 and streams live at my website. See you on the air!

Hugs,
Shellie

Can you think of anything you would like me to ask them?

What do you want out of 2012?

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:20:31 +0000

I’ve been writing this post in my head for some time. For the record, it was much easier up there. Now that I have keys under my fingers, I’m discovering that I can’t stop hitting the delete button. I keep erasing everything and starting over.

Not completely sure what that’s all about, but here’s what I suspect. I’m intimidated. I don’t have time to write a long, beautifully wordy essay and I’m not altogether sure I ever could, even if the clock wasn’t ticking on a hundred other things that need my attention. Hence the trepidation about putting my New Year’s thoughts out there with all of the awesome, articulate posts I’ve seen around the web the last few days.

Ha! Just as I thought. Typing those words disarmed the Doubting Voice. My fingers feel lighter already.

So, New Year’s resolutions….I haven’t officially made them in years. Oh, sure, I always plan to lose a few pounds, exercise more, eat less, get organized, etc. (That last one is particularly funny. The other voices are having a field day with my organizational intentions!) But concrete goals? Not so much.

This year, however, I’ve been thinking about 2012 in terms of goals since the first of December, in that consistent, right below the surface of my everyday life way that I’ve learned to recognize as a heavenly prompt. So, what do I want out of 2012?

1. I want to do everything I can to encourage people to embrace the transforming power of God’s word, to enjoy the sweet fruit that is the easiest picking, and harvest the untold treasures embedded in its depths.

2. I want to understand more of the enormous debt that has been forgiven me through the Cross. I believe we believers would be more capable of walking in the unqualified forgiveness Christ taught if we really understood the size of our own accounts that He settled on the cross. Lately I’ve been obsessed with the subject of forgiveness. I’m writing a Bible Study on it for my Sunday School girls. (If I don’t teach it soon, I may just burst!) Here’s a teaser. It’s taken from the parable of the King who forgave the ginormous debt of the servant that couldn’t pay up– only to discover the newly forgiven servant demanding that his fellow man (who was into him for a much smaller debt) pay up asap!

There’s a point in this passage where it’s all to clear that the first servant had no idea of the enormity of his own debt. Why do I say that? Listen as he says to the King, “Have patience and I will pay thee all,” Matthew 18.26. Really? If he couldn’t pay before, what made this guy believer that, with time, he could settle up/measure up/line up through his own efforts? What mercy, that Father would settle accounts with us despite the limited understanding we have of what He has done. I want to grasp more of this great salvation.

3. And finally, I want to use this platform to help you in your own walk. But, I need your help in the form of some feedback. If you’re familiar with my writing, you’re pretty familiar with me. I’m what you would call an open book. (Not that this is always a good thing!) Tell me, interactive social media friends and quiet lurkers alike, what do you want to know, if anything, about my experience with Christ? If you aren’t comfortable commenting aloud, hit the contact button on my website or friend me on Facebook and send a private message, but do keep in mind that often your questions and comments help others form their own. I’m all ears.

There now. That wasn’t so hard.

Happy New Year Hugs,
Shellie

What do you want out of 2012? What do you want from me?

Grace Came to Stay

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 03:24:51 +0000

Dear Readers, this Christmas Eve, with a grateful heart overflowing with the recognition of all of our family’s blessings, I’d like to offer you a few words from my heart. My family wishes for you peace, joy, and love. Please accept this verse as our Christmas gift to you and yours.

Grace Came to Stay

Sweet baby Jesus, Mary held you tight
your tiny hands clutching her fingers
your baby scent caressing her senses as she
breathed in the wonder of her first born son,
the promise of an angel asleep in her arms.
What did she know? What did she feel?
Run with this precious gift? Disrupt the plan
formed before ever the world was? And then grace
came, that marvelous grace and her aching heart eased.

Little boy Jesus, Mary watched you run and play.
She kissed your scratches. Did she know?
Did it not hurt to even consider the thoughts stirring inside?
What lay ahead for a child born of a virgin?
And then grace came, that marvelous grace and her
aching heart eased.

Young man Jesus; they called you names, lunatic,
crazy, Son of Joseph claiming to be deity.
What did your Mother’s heart feel, Mary?
How many times did his arms surround your shoulders before
grace would come, that marvelous grace and your
aching heart would ease?

Sacrificed lamb, Savior Jesus, Mary beheld you on
the cross. You were the Son of God, paying a bill
in full. How her heart must have broke to let go of your
humanity for you were also born of woman, Son of Man.
And then grace came, that marvelous grace and her
aching heart eased.

Risen Jesus, Resurrection Life, Mary watched
you ascend in the clouds.
Sweet Mary, waiting there in Jerusalem,
watching with the others,
aching for her firstborn son.
And then, just as the Father had promised,
Grace came to stay.

(John 16:5-7: But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you ask me, where are you going? But because I have said these things, sorrow hath filled your heart. …It is necessary that I go away; for if I go not away the Comforter will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you.)

Merry Christmas Hugs to you and yours, Shellie

Enjoy the Ride!

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:59:37 +0000

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas!

Enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from some of today’s most beloved writer’s (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.

AND just for fun … there’s also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 – 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

Enjoy the Ride!
Susan May Warren

We sit poised on the top of a cliff, a near drop off before us, that falls to a rushing river. In the middle, a bridge of snow and ice hints at our destination. My husband guns the snowmobile engine. “Ready?”

Ready? For a face plant into a tree, maybe reconstructive surgery? To feel my stomach ripped from my body as we plummet down the mountain? Let’s do it!

We live on five acres of woods in northern Minnesota that butts up to a national forest. Hence, our backyard is about a hundred thousand acres. Aside from harboring deer, lynx, fox, cougar and bear, it also makes excellent snowmobile terrain. And not long ago, Mrs. Claus gave her Santa a snowmobile for two.

I love snowmobiling. Flying over the snow, catching air over drifts. I love to drive, to be at the helm of the beast as I weave around trees and over hill and dale, my husband sitting behind me. I also love riding behind my husband as he drives, feeling those powerful arms as he’s muscling the snowmobile into the wilds. We follow unknown trails, driven by a Magellan spirit, hoping that we have enough gas to get us back to civilization. I love hanging on, simply trusting him, knowing that wherever he’s taking me, he’s going first.

But there are times, when I see where he’s taking me, and I just have to bury my head in his back. Like straight down a cliff.

However, my heart cheers, despite the terror as we gun it down the hill, over the river, up the opposite side. And, if we hadn’t let ourselves go, we would have never discovered the beauty of a winter river, a hidden jewel buried deep in the forest. Nor the exhilaration of facing the challenge together.

Further on, we find an enchanted forest of towering white pine. Catch a view of Lake Superior, discover an old cabin in the woods.

It occurs to me that snowmobiling is much like my spiritual life. Occasionally, I drive, and it’s me setting our course, weaving through the trees, getting us hopelessly lost. But when God takes the “wheel” and I hang on, trusting Him for the speed and destination, I see the scenery. I trust him to keep me safe. I trust him to bring me home, where there is an eternal supply of hot chocolate.

As Christmas season becomes more hectic, what if I let God drive? Maybe everything doesn’t have to be perfect, and maybe I don’t have to control every tradition, every holiday nuance. What if I just held on for the ride?

I’ll bet I’ll still get there, and I might even enjoy the scenery along the way.

How have you let go, and “enjoyed” the scenery of this hectic, exhilarating Christmas season?

Merry Christmas!

***

Susan May Warren is the RITA award-winning author of thirty novels with Tyndale, Barbour, Steeple Hill and Summerside Press. A four-time Christy award finalist, a two-time RITA Finalist, she’s also a multi-winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice award, and the ACFW Carol Award. A seasoned women’s events speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.