Yearly Archives: 2011

The Next Food Network Star Is….

I’m taking a break from my regular blog topics today to talk about the Next Food Network Star TV show.

I must say that I was a bit disappointed that Jeff won! 🙁
I was kinda rooting for Susie. I thought she was more warm and personable than Jeff. Anyway, he won, so congrats to Jeff!

Have you been watching the Next Food Network Star competition? If so, who were you rooting for?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Sunday Brunch – Cherubim!

Mock Brunch Menu:
Creamy vanilla rice pudding with raisins and sprinkled with cinnamon
Fluffy blueberry pancakes slathered with real butter and homemade maple syrup
Crispy salty bacon
Tender link sausages
Hot coffee laced with cream and sugar
Cold, fresh-squeezed orange juice
Sweet apple juice

As usual, let’s pretend like we’ve just finished the tasty meal that I’ve outlined above and we’re ready to talk about some scriptures!

Today, I wanted to talk about the cherubim. For some reason, thoughts of the cherubim have been going through my mind over the last few weeks! I’ll talk about seraphim another week.

NOTE: I’M TALKING ABOUT CHERUBIM IN THE BIBLICAL SENSE. I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE TERM CHERUB/CHERUBIM AS IT PERTAINS TO INFANTS/BABIES.

When you think about cherubim, what image comes to your mind?

The cherubim are mentioned in the Bible a number of times. After Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, the cherubim guarded the Garden so that Adam and Eve could not return:

Genesis 3:24
24After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Cherubim were also used numerous times in the design of the Ark of the Covenant as well as the temple built by Solomon. This leads me to believe that these are extremely holy and important creatures.

We also know that God is enthroned between the cherubim:
2 Kings 19:15
15And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: “O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

However, the Biblical image that I find most striking about the cherubim occurs in Ezekiel 10:12-14
12Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels. 13I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.” 14Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

When I think of these Biblical creatures, I think about how amazing they are, and how scary they must look! God sits between these winged creatures and they appear to be of some importance in the Old Testament. I wonder what it would’ve been like to see these creatures? Just reading about them brings images to my mind, images that are really hard to grasp.

What do you think about when you read the scriptures about the cherubim?

As always, comments and questions are appreciated!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Milk Money! :-)

I just found out about the following comment today left on a book review blog for my novel, Milk Money. Milk Money is book #2 in the Chesapeake Weddings collection. Here’s the comment:
Great Book!
by: Anonymous

I’ve been reading Heartsong Presents books lately, and I just started reading Milk Money. I love the story. These books remind me that there is always a loving God who cares about you and will never leave you.

Thankyou, Cecelia Dowdy for writing this book!
-16 years old, NH =)

I love hearing from teenagers! It’s great to see that people are still reading my books and I’m humbled and pleased by the praise.

It’s just so sad that Heartsong Presents no longer exists! 🙁

The Chesapeake Weddings collection is still available at Christianbook.com for only $2.79 if you’d still like to purchase a copy. If you order 3 or more copies, the price drops to $1.79! They make great gifts for friends, family, church members and women’s groups! You can even do some early Christmas shopping and use them as stocking stuffers! 🙂

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Daughter Of The Loom – Book 1 – Bells Of Lowell Series

Daughter Of The Loom by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

This is book #1 in the Bells Of Lowell series.

Forced to work in the mill as her only means of survival, Lilly Armbruster is deeply resentful of the powerful mill owners she believes forced her father’s premature death. Lily is torn, however, when she discovers her one-time betrothed is one with the “lords of the loom.” With her heart conflicted, Lilly’s faith will be put to the test.


Lilly’s life has taken an unexpected turn. Her father is dead and her farm has been sold to a group of people. This group of people, the Boston Associates, want to expand the mills, therefore getting rid of most of the farms. Lilly loved her farm and her ex-beau, Matthew, has joined the Associates, stating that the mills will bring prosperity to Lowell.

Lilly’s brother, Lewis, has gambled away the money that they’ve received from the sale of the farm, so Lilly is left penniless. She must now work to survive and the only job she can find is at the mills, working in the factory making fabric. She’s determined to bring justice into Lowell by putting a stop to the mill operations. However, Lilly needs to learn that vengeance is not something she should take into her own hands.

I thought this book was a good read. The story shows that we need to forgive others for their transgressions. There were so many issues that were dealt with in this book that it’s hard to name them all. Sibling rivalry is one issue that the characters needed to work out. Lilly and her brother Lewis have never gotten along. Lilly finds it hard to forgive Lewis for his gambling, drinking and lewd behavior. Lewis tortured her when they were children, and Lilly finds it hard to understand why her brother hates her so much.

There’s also a set of spinster sisters who run boarding houses for the mill workers. These sisters must learn to overcome their differences to restore their sisterly relationship. And there’s also the issue of lost love. Lilly has broken her engagement to Matthew because she holds him responsible for her father’s death as well as the loss of her farm. Lilly needs to learn that she should listen to God’s voice and really assess the value of the mills instead of taking matters into her own hands.

I thought this book was interesting because it showed the young women working in the mills in the 1800’s. Seeing them turning thread into fabric and seeing spindles, threads, looms, etc. was interesting. Working in the mills is hard on Lilly since she wanted to stay on her farm. Plus there’s a great deal of turmoil at work due to a lewd foreman who threatens the female workers. I thought the work situation was very realistic. The women worked long days with only a half hour for lunch and breakfast. The female workers would have only 30 minutes to rush back to their boarding houses, wolf down their food, and then return to the mills.

Overall a good read. I look forward to reading the other two books in the series.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Changing World Of Publishing

I’ve been feeling a bit melancholy of late. Reason why? I’m still kind of bummed that the Heartsong Presents line is being cancelled. I was working on a proposal to send to them, and then I heard about that.

Top it off with Borders shutting down a few weeks ago.

The publishing world is changing drastically. Since Borders is now closed, I’ve wondered about the fate of printed books? I just received my Kindle e-reader as a birthday gift and I love it. Do you think we’re moving toward the time where printed books will be history and will no longer exist?

I’ve also heard in various writers’ circles that other publishers will eventually get rid of their trade paperback books. Just makes me stop and wonder.

Also, I’ve noticed that a slew of commercially-published authors have started releasing self-pubbed e-books. I’ve heard some make great money and others have not had that much success in sales and money. Will the book world change so much that commercial publishers will cease to exist and everybody self-publishes e-books? Those who are deemed to be successful are the ones who make lots of $$$?

Or, I also wonder if commercial publishers will get even more picky about the authors that they want to publish. Do you think that commercial publishers might reach the point where they choose new authors from the selection of successfully published e-authors?

What’s the point of this blog post? I’m not sure! I’m just thinking about the vast changes being made in the world of publishing and trying to digest everything. I know it’s gonna be hard to figure this all out. I just think it’ll be weird and a bit sad if we ever reach the point where… there are NO MORE BOOKSTORES!!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Help – A Book Review

NOTE – THIS IS A SECULAR TITLE

My sister loaned me her copy of this book, and I just finished it a couple of days ago. The movie is going to be released in about a week, so, I’ll probably go and see it when it comes out.

In spite of the controversy for some, I felt this book painted a realistic view for what it was like for SOME African-American maids to work for white families in the sixties. I enjoyed reading this book, but there were parts of it that rankled me, made me angry. But, I felt the author did a great job with the story.

Skeeter is 22 years old and she has graduated from college. Unmarried, she hangs out with her friends who are married with children. Skeeter’s mother is always “on her case” about her height (she’s very tall) and her unruly hair. Can’t she fix herself up so that she can snag a husband? Skeeter is sick of her mother and she’s got goals, goals that are not shared by her upper-class friends. Skeeter wants to be a writer and when she reaches out to a big-time New York editor, she comes up with an idea for a book – a book about what it’s really like to be a Black maid in the deep South.

Skeeter’s family maid suddenly disappears and her mother lies about the maid’s wherabouts. Skeeter wants to know what happened to the African-American woman who raised her. She’s stunned that the maid that they’ve employed for decades is now gone – it’s almost like losing her second mother.

Skeeter’s family as well as Skeeter’s friends all employ African-American domestic help. Aibileen, one of the maids, has been a domestic worker her entire life. I think, when you read this story, it’ll make you stop and make you think about what the life of a maid is really like. They cook, clean, and they also raise the children of their White employers. They’re not really appreciated for all that they do.

You’ll meet a cast of interesting characters who struggle with bigotry and fear. Minny, another maid, has problems that she’s dealing with at home – her homelife is sad and she has trouble keeping domestic jobs because of her sassy attitude. She finally finds a job with Ms. Celia, a white woman who is the social outcast of Jackson Misssissippi since she is little more than “poor white trash” who “stole” the boyfriend of one of the town’s elite.

Skeeter and the maids are fearful, but feel that changes need to be made, so she sets out to write the stories about the maids in her town. Skeeter wants others to know about what the maids have to go through each day doing their jobs. Most times, their White employers are unsympathetic, demeaning, and they treat their help with no respect.

One particular thing comes to mind to illustrate how the maids are disrespected – many of their employers get a separate bathroom contructed onto their homes because they feel that Blacks have diseases to which whites are not accostomed to. I found the views of many of the Whites in the book to be downright stupid. How are you going to have a Black maid fixing your food, raising your children, and then worry about catching a disease from using the same toilet?

The Help takes place during the sixties in Jackson Mississippi and there is an extreme amount of racial unrest during this time in history. Martin Luther King is about to lead the March in Washington. People are getting lynched and shot just for standing up for their civil rights.

I could go on and on talking about this book, but I don’t want to give spoilers. My only pet peeve about this novel is that Skeeter hangs out with her best friends – apparantly, they used to be extremely close. However, now that closeness is being shattered. I had a hard time believing that these Skeeter and her friends had been close at one point? Why? Not sure. Once the story opens, that closeness has faded, so, since I never “experienced” the closeness amidst the pages in the book, it could be why I’m having a hard time accepting that Skeeter was close to her friends?

Overall, the book was a quick, good, engaging read and I highly recommend this controversial book.

~Cecelia Dowdy~
From the back cover:
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.
Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women—mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends—view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.

Sunday Brunch – Why Did Jesus Spit?

It’s time for another Sunday Brunch! 🙂

Today’s mock brunch menu:

Lemon Cake With Frosting
Breakfast Casserole
Toast With Jelly
Cranberry Juice
Coffee

I wanted to discuss the following scripture in the book of Mark. I also wanted your response to this question: Why did Jesus have to spit on the blind man’s eyes?
Mark 8:22-26
The Healing of a Blind Man at Bethsaida
22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”
24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village.”

Why do you think that Jesus had to spit on the blind man’s eyes?

I also wonder why the spittle didn’t work initially? The blind man’s sight appeared to be only partially restored since he said he saw people that looked like trees. Then Jesus had to place his hands on the man’s eyes again and his sight was restored! I’m thinking, maybe, this man’s faith may have been weaker than the faith of the other people whom Jesus healed? It’s hard to say.

Why do you think that Jesus had to spit on this blind man’s eyes?

Leave your answers in the comments!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

My Birthday Gift!

My birthday is today and my hubby purchased me a Kindle! It’s certainly taken me long enough to get an e-reader! Until today, I’ve always used the Kindle for PC, and I used the PC Kindle to download freebies and I’ve purchased a couple of items on the PC Kindle. It’s nice to now have a REAL KINDLE, though! To test out my new Kindle I purchased a book. My first Kindle purchase?

A Good Excuse To Be Bad by Miranda Parker! 🙂

~Cecelia Dowdy~