What;s New? from Michigan author, Gail Gaymer Martin January 2012 #michlit

What's New?  From Author  Gail  Gaymer Martin  January 2012 Dear Friends,  I hope you enjoyed a blessed Christmas as you celebrated the birth of our Savior, Jesus. Christmas is a time of enjoying family and friends, and we did just that. Between the music rehearsals and performances, my husband and I squeezed in two days to visit with my brother and my sister-in-law at their new condo in Kalamazoo. Their home in Temperance, near the Ohio border—a beautiful house on a golf course—has not sold yet with the poor economy. We enjoyed seeing their new residence near Western Michigan University where they are both on staff, and also spending time with their new granddaughter, Mira.   My brother received his doctorate degree a few days earlier, and I was a proud sister. Our sister was there along with Dan's wife who also has her doctorate and his two daughters. The youngest had just passed her nursing exam and is now officially an RN. We had wonderful educational excitement in December.   Christmas worship included three services—two on Christmas Eve where we were involved with handbells and I was singing with the praise team and our choir, and one service on Christmas Day where we also played handbells. Following the Christmas Day service, Bob and I stayed at the church where we welcomed sixty homeless persons who enjoyed breakfast and a wonderful dinner at our church provided by our church family. Bob made a large chafing dish of sausage and bread stuffing, and we also served turkey, ham, meatloaf, cheesy potatoes, a variety of veggies and salads, along with a buffet of desserts. The homeless spent the day from early morning to 7:30 PM enjoying the two meals, singing carols, watching movies and playing games. I believe this was a blessing for us. We left later in the afternoon to attend our family dinner which is also a delicious banquet of food. The children opened their gifts and the adults had a White Elephant gift exchange. We also sang, as we traditionally do, The Twelve Days of Christmas which is always filled with laughter. We are now on the road to spend some time in a warmer climate, but I will stay in touch through the Internet. Wishing you a blessed new year.   With Christmas In His Heart ISBN: 9780373786961 Order    Upon A Midnight Clear  ISBN: 9780373786909 Order Christmas Gifts  a duet novel from Love Inspired including Gail's novel,  A Small Town Christmas November 2011 Click to order   Dreams Come True      Book 1 A Dad Of His Own  Love Inspired March 2011   Order Here       Book 2 A Family Of Their Own Love Inspired September 2011 Order Here   Book 3 - A Dream Of His Own -  Love Inspired -  Coming in June 2012 STILL AVAILABLE    Dad In Training           Click here to purchase  Groom In Training      Click here to purchase Bride In Training         Click here to purchase Monterey Memories    Click here to purchase  2012 APPEARANCES, TRAVEL AND EVENTS Nothing scheduled at this time. RECIPE For Christmas my mom always made her delicious nut tarts until the Lord took her to heaven, and now my sister keeps up the tradition by making them. Some times my husband Bob even jumps in to create a few of the delicious treats. Although the Christmas season had ended, the tarts make a good dessert any time so I decided to share the recipe with you so you can make them now or for next Christmas. MOM'S NUT TARTS Dough: 3 oz. cream cheese 1 stick margarine 1 cup flour Cream the cheese and margarine, then add flour. Mix well. Filling: 1 cup ground pecans or walnuts 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 tsp. melted margarine 1 tsp. vanilla 1 beaten egg pinch of salt Roll dough in small ball and form into mini-muffin pan. Fill each tart 2/3 full with filling (expands during baking) Bake 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes 5 dough recipes and 3 filling recipes equal approx. 110 tarts. GAIL'S FREE BOOK CONTEST DRAWING The winner of the January free autographed book and small gifts is Deanna Pauline from Washington. The free book drawings are held six times a year: January, March, May, July, September, and November, offering you six opportunities to win, but you must sign the guestbook for each drawing. The next drawing will be in March, so please drop by www.gailmartin.com and look in the boxed area for the Read and Sign My Guestbook. I love to hear from you.   SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER If you have friends or family who love to read, please share this newsletter, and invite your friends to subscribe for all the monthly news. DO YOU HAVE A NEW EMAIL ADDRESS? When you change email addresses, please don't forget to re-subscribe to this newsletter with your new email address. You can delete the old or you can let it stay and it will be deleted automatically by Ezine Director who manages my newsletter account. FAITH THOUGHT After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2: 9 - 11. The Magi traveled long distances to find the meaning of the star's message of the birth of a new king for the Jews. To honor him, they brought costly gifts from their lands. You and I do not have gold, frankincense and myrrh to honor Jesus, but we do have three gifts that we can use to honor him: our time, treasure and talents. As you ponder on this thought, ask yourself what gift you can expand on this year to honor Jesus. Can you use your talents more fully? Can you spend more time witnessing and praising our Lord? Can you expand your giving to include more of your treasure? God has given us the best gift of all—His Son, Jesus Christ our Savior. What more can we do for Him? May you find blessings and wonder in the new year.                           Gail