Hello, my friend!
I hope you’re having a lovely week! It’s been a rainy one here in south Texas, but the sunshine’s on its way! I can’t wait to get back to the beach with my husband and kiddos, maybe even the giant schnauzers, one of whom has a pretty hilarious case of hydrophobia…
Over the weekend, my son turned FIVE years old. Half a decade! Eleven years shy of a driver’s license!! He had a fantastic party at a local gymnastics place and received a plethora of super-cool and thoughtful gifts, his current favorites of which are an adorable bug playground (thank you, Miss Abigail!) that’s currently housing a yellowstriped armyworm, and his third bug-catcher’s kit (a young entomologist can never have too many of those!).
I am counting down the days until the release of my new novel, The God Next Door! My good friend Lillian has created some sweet swag for giveaways, including a tote with the quote, “Better to be loved as legends than to be feared as fiends,” which is a quote from Zeus as he explains to his secretary why he doesn’t want the gods being “outed” as real rather than fictious. The secretary says, “He’s convinced that once people see us face to face, we’ll lose our allure.” I guess you could say he’s got a Wizard-of-Oz complex?
If you’d like to be an advanced reader and receive a free digital and paperback copy, please reply to diana.tyler86@gmail.com! You’ll also be entered to win a prize consisting of nerdily awesome mythological objects, plus the tote bag!
Okay, onto this week’s Top 4!
Shamelessly, I’m sharing an excerpt from the aforementioned book:
“Aphrodite whimpered at the harshness of her inner pep talk, then blinked back her tears and sat up. She gasped when she saw the shadowy silhouette of a large man standing by the door, his hulking form backlit faintly by the lights outside.
“‘I’m perfectly content with my current shape.’ Aphrodite sniffed huffily and glared into the unmoving darkness. ‘Did you hear what I said?’
“She saw the figure raise his arm and heard a loud crisp snap. The overhead lights flashed on, revealing the man’s identity.
“‘Father?” Aphrodite looked him up and down. The long gray beard was a dead giveaway. As were his caterpillar-like eyebrows and the heavy bone shelf they sat upon. But ordinary mortals might have thought, upon seeing his drab, navy blue tracksuit, that he was a washed-up bodybuilder, or perhaps a trainer of washed-up bodybuilders.
“‘They have light switches that turn on the lights, you know,’ she said. ‘You don’t have to snap your fingers.’
“Zeus pointed to a rolled-up mat, and with a graceful wave of his hand directed it into the middle of the room beside Aphrodite. ‘Light switches are great places to contract diseases.’ He pointed to a towel and spray bottle on a shelf and, like a conductor leading an orchestra, commanded them to clean the mat, as well as the floor around it.
“‘Gyms are notoriously unsanitary,’ he said, sitting down beside her, curling his massive and surprisingly flexible legs into a lotus position. ‘I can’t begin to guess why you decided to come to one. When Helios told me this was where you were, I said he must’ve been mistaken. First of all, you hate hard work even more than you hate pretty women. And second of all, you have an eternally beautiful and healthy body. What need is there to subject it to such horrid forms of masochism as resistance training and aerobic activity?’”
“EVERYTHING IMPORTANT IS UNCERTAIN”
“If you know something is going to work, it’s not worth working on. It requires no courage. It requires no faith. It requires no skin in the game. Whether you’re a spy or a teacher or a spouse or a painter or an abuela or an astronaut or a monk or a barista or a board-game designer, the bits that matter are the bits you make matter by putting yourself on the line for them. The unknown is the foundry where you forge your chips. Everything important is uncertain. Sitting with the discomfort of that uncertainty is the hard part, the wedge that can move the world.” – Eliot Peper, author and entrepreneur
What’s the last thing you set out to do that required a great deal of courage, faith, and “skin in the game”? If you can’t think of anything, I encourage you to do a bit of soul searching to discover why you may have an aversion to risk taking.
RUGGED FAITH
“If your faith rests in your idea of how God is supposed to answer your prayers, then that kind of faith is very shaky and is bound to be demolished when the storms of life hit it. But if your faith rests on the character of Him who is the eternal I AM, then that kind of faith is rugged and will endure.” – Elizabeth Elliot
MAKING MOM FRIENDS AS AN INTROVERT
My latest podcast episode (just under 20 minutes) is all about ways to seek and sustain genuine friendships with other moms. So, if you’re an introverted mama like me, give it a listen! And please reply with any friend-making tips you may have at diana.tyler86@gmail.com.
I’ll be taking a break next week due to vacay time! Till next time, I pray you and your family flourish in mind, body, and spirit!
“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” – 3 John 1:2, NLT