Tag: Christmas

A Book Review & Update on Dog Attack
Dogs · My Books · My Thoughts

A Book Review & Update on Dog Attack

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment
Book Review newspaper

A book review on Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir came in last week from Reader’s Favorite Book Award with a 5-Stars rating. So, I want to share it with you. Also, I include a update on the dog attack from last Sunday!

5-Star Review from Reader’s Favorite Book Award

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir by Larada Horner-Miller is a perfect memoir full of warmth, laughter, and holiday spirit. The story covers the entire life of the author, starting from childhood to adulthood, when she wanders from one city to another. All the chapters focus on diverse aspects of the holiday season, ranging from family gatherings and tree decorations to private ponderings and spiritual experiences. The narrative is full of vivid details and memorable stories; for instance, one of them recounts when the author’s hair caught fire during a Christmas church program. The author uses her memoir to explain how people can look back on their Christmas memories and find joy and meaning in their lives.

Larada Horner-Miller’s writing style is warm and inspiring. Her desire to share the Christmas spirit with readers is felt throughout her writing as readers are transported from the past to the present. She conveys humor excellently with the occasional serious moment, making this memoir an enjoyable read. The flow of details through prose and poetry kept me engaged and connected to the author’s experiences. Her descriptive writing skills took me back to my childhood schooldays when we used to decorate classrooms and sing carols together at Christmas. Her thoughtful and sincere interpretation of the religious significance of Christmas provides a diversion from the commercial aspects of the occasion. I highly recommend Hair on Fire for readers looking for a heartfelt and nostalgic book that captures the true spirit of Christmas.

5 Stars Graphic - a book review

Zahid Sheikh for Readers’ Favorite – July 2024

Importance of Book Reviews

Editorials book reviews and any reader review plays an important part in promoting books because I can use any of the verbiage in promotional matter. I love that Reader’s Favorite Book Award provides a review when you enter their contest. Many award contests do not provide the author any feedback.

The winners of the Reader’s Favorite Book Award, so stay tuned!

This blog post ends my focus on “Christmas in July.” I have offered great discounts and enjoyed thinking about my favorite holiday in the midst of July! I hope you took advantage of the sales. Look for more in December!

Update on Dog Attack

Update - book review

The horrible dog attack I described in last week’s blog post happened a week ago today—that’s so hard to believe because it’s been such a painful, life-altering week. Lin, my husband, wasn’t with me, so on Wednesday, July 24, he rode Amtrak from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Raton, New Mexico. (I couldn’t drive myself home because the attack was on my right leg and I have nerve damage in my leg and foot and have lost feeling in my foot.) My brother picked him up there. The next day we drove home to Tijeras, New Mexico. Then I saw my Primary Care physician the next day on Friday.

I have been hobbled around on a cane since this happened. Because of the nerve damage in my foot and down the right side of my leg, walking has become strange and a cane is necessary.

My primary care nurse practitioner walked in the examine room, looked at the wound and grimaced! Her empathy and kindness comforted my wounded heart. Also, she confirmed it was a horrible attack and wanted to be honest with us—she felt I would need a skin graft and gave me a referral for their Wound Clinic. We set up an appointment for Friday, August 2, to take out the stitches. I will set up an appointment with the Wound Clinic tomorrow.

I finally got a shower last night—until then I felt leery of getting it wet that much. I’ve cleaned the sight daily with a wash cloth and soap. Maybe because of that delicious shower, last night I slept the best yet this week.

The Worse News

The Worse News - Book Review

The worse news my primary care nurse practitioner gave us on Friday—no dancing at Hot August Nights, the festival Lin and I host with a fantastic committee. She said, “Be the hostess. Enjoy the party, but don’t dance!”

For those who know me, that’s the hardest thing in the world to hear! Tony Oxendine is my favorite square dance caller; Mitchell Thompson is a fabulous cuer! I always look forward to this event we started eighteen years ago. But right now, I know that’s the truth.

Check out my recent interview at Southwest Writers.

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

This Tumbleweed Landed audiobook cover

Let Me Tell You a Story 

Let Me Tell You a Story audiobook cover

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir audiobook cover

Enjoy my interview on the podcast, The Writing Table

Mary and Joseph: Walk with Them!
Christmas · My Thoughts

Mary and Joseph: Walk with Them!

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment
Mary and Joseph in Nativiy

On this day, many years ago, pregnant Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem. It had to be a struggle for Mary—and for Joseph as he watched her. Their baby was due any time. In fact, Mary had warned him she felt the event they had been waiting for was almost here!

Walk beside them as they head away from their home, Nazareth, to a distant city because of a decree set in place by Caesar Augustus requiring all descendants of David to return to Bethlehem to register. It was only 93 miles, about an hour and a half in a car, but remember, Mary rode a donkey. Joseph walked.

Mary and Joseph with donkey

The donkey’s slow pace rocks Mary into a lulled state. Her head bobs, but she is safe because Joseph keeps his hand on her leg to keep her from falling off. The silence surrounds them. Smell the strong pungent donkey odor that lingers in the air. He brays, asking for a stop, so they do.

With Joseph’s help, Mary rolls off the donkey and relieves herself in the bushes. Joseph provides a small drink for the tired donkey and a bit of hay. He also quenches his and Mary’s thirst and they share a piece of bread to stay them.

Mary and Joseph - donkey

As they negotiate getting Mary back up on the donkey, they laugh at the absurdity of their trip and her awkward size. And once again, they continue towards Bethlehem, resuming the rhythm of the donkey’s gait.

That beautiful part of the day comes—the link between darkness and light. This makes the travel much more treacherous for Joseph to keep Mary on their donkey. Darkness comes, and a beautiful canopy of stars twinkle above them. One predominant star shines brighter and brighter, almost like it is guiding them to their destination. Then Mary screams scares Joseph and he knows the time is approaching too fast—way too fast. But she settles back into the rhythm of the road and he knows she hides any discomfort from him, to protect him.

They haven’t arrived yet in crowded Bethlehem, where they will face no room in any inn. Because of their slow travel, they will arrive late in the evening, but right now they are working their way to Bethlehem.

Are you ready to welcome the Holy Family into your home tonight? You may have a Nativity set up in your home, but are you ready to offer Mary and Joseph a place in your heart to birth the Christ Child? I hope you do!

Merry Christmas!

~For me, it’s Christmas all year long! Here’s a variety of Christmas greetings from Flippo & Neeca, featuring his song, “When It’s Christmas Time in Texas”: https://youtu.be/mpJCUGffU3A

Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? Christmas meme - Mary and Joseph

~My new book, Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? WON the 2022 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards in the Body, Mind & Spirit Category. Have you bought your copy yet? Vist my website: laradasbooks.com

Just Another Square Dance Caller: Authorized Biography of Marshall Flippo

~Have you bought a copy of Flippo’s biography yet? Believe it or not—it’s been two years. Go here for your hardback or paperback: https://www.laradasbooks.com or at Amazon.

Do You Know Mary? Do You Know Joseph?
Christmas · My Thoughts

Do You Know Mary? Do You Know Joseph?

Larada Horner-Miller1 Comment

A young Jewish girl humbly accepted a visit from God’s angel, Gabriel, and puzzled over his message that she would be the mother of the Messiah. At first, she couldn’t fathom the idea. The Jewish world had been waiting centuries for His coming. She was a teenager and single. What a shock!

Being single, Mary questioned Gabriel about how she could give birth to a child. Patiently Gabriel explained the mystery. Her humble response echoes through the ages, “I am the Lord’s servant.” Her answer was “Yes!”

Mary’s song in response is recorded in Luke 1:46-55 and is a celebration of her commitment to do God’s will–read it out loud and celebrate her obedience.

Imagine what those nine months after an angel’s visit were like. Some sort of marriage happened. Joseph protected Mary during this time, knowing that this child she carried was special. Pregnancy outside of marriage during this time in history was scandalous!

As her time neared, they had to make a rush trip to Bethlehem from their hometown of Nazareth. Caesar Augustus required a census, and Joesph belonged to the house and line of David, so they went to Bethlehem to register Mary.

Nine months pregnant, Mary faced a 160 kilometer trip. Did she walk part of the way and ride a donkey the rest? How long did it take? In today’s world, it’s a three hour trip, but their’s had to take hours, maybe days.

Each mounting step jarred this pregnant woman. As she neared Bethlehem, the birth pangs hit. Did her water break before or after they found the manger? As they moved from inn to inn, Joseph realized there was no place to stay–the census had overloaded the small Jewish city. What to do?

Thinking outside the box, he found an empty stable and tied his tired donkey up. Gently, he lifted Mary off of its back and nestled her in a soft bed of hay. The time had arrived. He delivered his child, the Son of God, alone there in their makeshift home.

Mary trusted his judgment and knew that they would be OK. Her screams echoed through the hills. Joseph wiped sweat from her brow, praying for God’s guidance. One last scream and a new sound was added to the quiet night–the cry of a newborn baby.

Joseph wrapped his newborn son in clothe they had brought with them and placed him in the manger. God directed him on how to cut the umbilical cord and tend to Mary’s needs. His heart burst with pride–a son to carry on his business, his own son, but wait! This was God’s son! What did that mean for Joseph and Jesus?

Mary’s eyes focused on the baby, Jesus–her baby. Tears welled up in her eyes as her heart burst with joy! Her baby boy was here! She savored the serenity of the moment. Then the quiet stable changed as the twosome noticed an angel appear. The trumpet blast from the angel announcing the birth of Jesus shattered the silence. The cows and donkey in the stable woke up and joined the chorus of angels in celebrating this birth. Shepherds with their sheep drifted in the door and bowed to the newborn King. They shed tears of joy in the fulfillment of the promise! They moved aside but lingered, as three wise men laid gifts at the feet of this amazing baby. This mixture of Jew and Gentile surprised Mary and Joseph.

Mary and Joseph looked at each other in amazement and smiled–it was true! The message from Gabriel nine months ago was true! They were now the parents of the Son of God!

Copyright ©2018 Larada Horner-Miller

These are my thoughts about a familiar story–have you ever thought about what happened that night so long ago in Bethlehem? I challenge you to do so this Christmas.

Visit my website for information about my books: https://www.laradasbooks.com

Big discounts on E-books until the end of the year at my Etsy Shop, Larada’s Reading Loft

$2.99 — 46% Off – A Time To Grow Up: A Daughter’s Grief Memoir E-book on Amazon.com from December 22 – 29 in the USA and from December 23 – 30 in the UK.

Are Holiday Traditions Important?
Christmas · family · Memoirs · My Thoughts

Are Holiday Traditions Important?

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment

I’m a tradition-based holiday person–I love the familiar and the repetitious. As a child, our home-spun traditions centered on our family. We cut our own Christmas tree on our family ranch when we used to have lots of snow, so it was cold and messy but joyful and an adventure. I often had sap all over my hands.

Because we didn’t have a lot of money, presents were few and heartfelt. I wrote letters to Santa and dreamed about my gifts, looked at a Monkey Ward’s catalog and dog-earred pages so I could revisit it often.

I dressed up in my Christmas outfit, and we ate Christmas Eve dinner at my grandparent’s house across town. When we got to the car, often Dad forgot something and went back inside to retrieve it (later I realized that’s when Santa came!).

My grandparent’s house filled quickly with our family and my aunt and uncle’s family. Often our two great aunts from Tulsa, Oklahoma joined us and gave us $2 bills because one of them worked at a bank. The highlight of the evening was Granddad leading a parade of children from the front door to the back after he shouted, “I saw Santa Claus!”

We would return home after eating a savory dinner and opening our presents to see that Santa had visited our home, and I realized my dreams.

Christmas Day was low-keyed and filled with hours of playing with my new toys.

This scenario repeated itself most years, so you can see the deep family traditions I love.

As an adult, the magic of Santa changed, but Christmas continued to be a magical time for me with my new grown-up traditions. From my first husband, I added Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve at an Episcopal church to my Christmas traditions, and church became a regular part of my celebration.

After my first husband and I divorced, Dad and Mom joined me in this tradition, and we drove to Trinidad, Colorado each Christmas Eve to the Lutheran church for Midnight Mass–some of our most memorable conversations happened on those late night 50-mile drives home.

As a middle school teacher for twenty-seven years, I put together a wild collection of holiday t-shirts, sweatshirts, pants and jewelry that I started wearing the Monday after Thanksgiving–I’m still adding to this collection today.

I love writing our Christmas letter that features what we’ve done for the year. This is my 30th year of writing this, and I enjoy the process of looking a back and summarizing the activity of the year.

I cherish baking Christmas candy and goodies because it reminds me of Mom and all the fun we had in the kitchen–I use a lot of her delicious recipes. And I love sending Christmas cards–I don’t receive that many anymore, but as I address each card, I’m flooded with memories of each person on my list, and it’s a celebration of my family and friends.

The last tradition I will share is one my Mom started in 1988. I was going to codependency treatment on December 22 and wouldn’t be home for Christmas. She put together ten Advent gifts–one to open each day before Christmas, starting on December 15th. I packed the remaining gifts to take with me to treatment but had the shock of my life. They went through my bags, opened each of the unopened gifts, thought a bag of potpourri was marijuana, and confiscated it.  Even though I lost the opportunity to open the remaining Advent gifts, I felt Mom’s presence in a special way that Christmas in those gifts.

We continued that tradition until she died, and I joined in the gift exchange and gave her little nonsensical gifts. We added Aunt Willie and Lin–they enjoyed this tradition.

For me, the various traditions have blessed me deeply and shaped me into the person I am during the holidays. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Are traditions important to you? Share your thoughts with me! I’d love to hear from you!

Visit my Etsy Shop, Larada’s Reading Loft for big discounts! You have time to download any of my e-books for stocking stuffers!

Visit my web site for more information about all my books–FREE DOWNLOADS AVAILABLE AS MY GIFT TO YOU!  https://www.laradasbooks.com

MY NEW WRITING PROJECT: Pre-order the authorized biography of Marshall Flippo, the most famous square dance caller at https://goo.gl/forms/buMf6zCG8Wen4muo2