Daphne E. Tarango

 
Happy Monday, friends!
 
I hope you had a joyous Easter. We had such powerful worship at our morning church service. It moves me to tears to know my God is alive. And because He lives, we can too. And not just live, but live abundantly.
 

 
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)
 

 
This past Saturday, I had the privilege of showcasing my books at “Meet the Author on the Park” in Winter Haven, Florida. This event was sponsored by my friends Sandy Knowles at Three Rivers Press and April Whitt at Grapefruit Press.

 
I met many people and was able to learn about their lives, their interests, and their troubles. Sandy and April, the organizers of the event, offered authors the opportunity to speak to the audience via a loudspeaker system. (Yikes!) I was up for the challenge and spoke to festival-goers about some tips for writing about difficult topics. I also shared about my latest book, Dragonflies, Ketchup, and Late-Night Phone Calls: 31 Days of Journaling God’s Blessings.
 
 
I haven’t officially shared with you about this book, which was such an inspiration to me as I wrote it. Dragonflies, Ketchup, and Late-Night Phone Calls is a unique thankfulness journal where you literally “jot down” your thanks to God throughout your day.
 
 
Here is a snapshot of one of the chapters.
 
 

 
 
As you can see, I open each of the 31 days with praise to God and then provide you some space to give thanks to God throughout your day. No journaling for 10, 15, 30 minutes or an hour-not that there’s anything wrong with that. 😉 The approach is to jot down your thanks as you go through your day or when you lie down for the night.
 
 
I asked people who stopped by my booth what they were thankful for that very morning and these were some of their answers:
 

• Shoes on my feet
• That I didn’t have to cook Easter dinner
• That it wasn’t raining (The weather called for rain.)

 
 
By the end of the festival, I gave thanks to God that my booth didn’t tumble away with the wind. 🙂
 
 
During my 10-minute talk, I was honored to talk about the inspiration for my book, which came about during my husband’s job loss last year. Writing Dragonflies, Ketchup, and Late-Night Phone Calls was my way of keeping a thankful spirit during our financial troubles, our roller coaster feelings of hope and frustration, and all of the emotional, physical, relational, and even spiritual side-effects of such a loss. God truly can help us through difficult times when we are intentional about giving thanks in all circumstances. It’s not easy; it still isn’t, but we have renewed hope and know God has been our provider during this time.
 
 
Remember, friends: God might not change your circumstances, but He can change you when you choose to thank Him.
 

 
I was also excited to showcase the Spanish version of the book, hot off the press. 🙂
 
 
To order the English or Spanish version of Dragonflies, Ketchup, and Late-Night Phone Calls, visit Amazon, CreateSpace, or your preferred online book retailer. You may also purchase a copy here on my Web site, and I will mail you a copy with a message just for you. 🙂
 
 
Big hugs. So… What are you thankful for today?
 

 
They stood every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They did the same thing every evening. (1 Chronicles 23:30)