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Hello and welcome back to Life of Heritage Corner! It’s hard to believe February is already over! Today, I’d like to share with you some of my February favorites. Let’s Dive in!  My February Favorites… Event: Going ice skating with my family for the very first time! Banged up my elbow and my knee, but it was still an exciting experience! Song: I have been listening to a lot of Patch the Pirate this month! I must say my favorite song so far is God of Wonders from Time Twisters (2017). It covers the wonders of God from the Bible, like Creation, The Flood, Egypt’s Plagues and the Lions’ Den to name a few. The orchestration adds so much to the song and truly allows you to get lost in the Greatness of our God! Snack: Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies! We love these and my siblings enjoy making them with me when they can. Their favorite part is sifting the flour. (I like that part too 😉) Verse: Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. (Hosea 6:1, King James Bible) I love Jude 22, but this month, this verse really stood out to me. It was the heading verse from a devotional book, Revival Time by John Goetsch and Nathan Birt. (It’s a great book, btw!) It’s so encouraging to know that God is standing by, ready to forgive when we fail Him, ready to heal our wounds and get us back on the right path. And what a joy to know that this promise holds true for our nation as well! We can have revival, if only the people of God will humble ourselves, and pray, seeking His face and turn from our wicked ways! There is hope! (II Chronicles 7:14) Book of the Month: The Swamp Fox of the Revolution by Stewart H. Holbrook. It was a very interesting book about one of my favorite Patriot Heroes! I came across it at our local library, and loving older books, I had to check it out 😉 So glad I did! Ministry Update Now, for those of you who don’t know, my family represents the Fundamental Broadcasting Network (FBN Radio). We are an Independent Baptist ministry out of Grace Baptist Church in Newport, N.C. (click here to see our website!) We have over 40 stations around the country, in addition to 12 overseas stations (including Bagdad, Iraq)! By way of app and Internet, we have heard from 225 countries and territories to date! There are still about 13 places we haven’t been able to reach yet, but we are praying that will change soon. Why am I telling you this? Well, I don’t know the names of all the countries we haven’t reached, but I do know one of them: North Korea. Currently, it is impossible to reach them with FBN, because they have a closed server that is closely monitored. I want to encourage you to join me in praying for this nation to be reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, if not through FBN (which would be great!), then through some other outlet. This has been a burden on my heart for the last couple of years. They need the gospel and the Christians in their country need encouragement. Will you pray for them today? Writing Update I have completed my physical round of edits and am currently making all those changes on my digital copy! It’s coming together quite nicely, and I appreciate your prayers and encouragement! It means a lot to me! Hopefully, I’ll be able to start team-edits with my mom this month! A Book I am Anticipating for March: The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. I know…I love WWII and it’s embarrassing to say I have yet to read this book. But I finally have decided to read it. I know it’s going to be a hard read, but I look forward to hearing Corrie and Betsie’s story in full. (Today is the 75th Anniversary of their arrest.) And Now for your Story Prompts!
 I’ll see you next month! God Bless!
Ryana Lynn Jude 22 Time for a history post! Y’all, today is a day you might not know is important. But it is…it is so important. Unless you are a WWII buff/enthusiast, you’ve probably never heard of The White Rose Resistance group. I know a gentleman from our church whose mother was German and he hadn’t heard of them, even though WWII is his favorite time period to study. He’s taught me most of what I know about the period. Well, today is the 76th anniversary of the death of three members of the White Rose Resistance group. And I am going to share with you 10 random facts about these amazing young people…  1. Unlike most resistance groups of WWII, The White Rose was a non-violent, intellectual resistance. This means that rather than sabotaging Nazi plans, assassinating the bad guys or going out to rescue people, they appealed to the public to turn on Hitler’s regime by writing pamphlets. They appealed to people’s morality, duty and loyalty to stand against the Nazis in any way they could. Had their resistance lasted longer, I have no doubt they eventually would have turned to rescuing internees, directly or indirectly. 2. The main members of The White Rose were: Hans and Sophie Scholl (Brother and sister), Christoph Probst, Alexander Schmorell, Willi Graf and Kurt Huber. 3. They published 5 leaflets, but 6 were written in all. Even though the papers were destroyed by the SS (Nazi Secret Police), some of the papers were smuggled to England, where they were mass-produced and spread throughout Germany, even after many of the resistance members had been executed. 4. Sophie is the indirect reason she and Hans were arrested. She pushed a stack of the papers off the ledge of their collage balcony, showering papers on the students walking below. The Janitor figured out who was responsible and everything fell apart from there. 5. Christoph was a married man with three children. His wife was ill at the time of his death. They tried to get him off the hook by claiming he had what we now call PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), since he had indeed been a soldier and did suffer some lasting mental strain as a result. 6.And speaking of being a soldier, Hans Scholl also served in the German Army prior to becoming a resister. 7. Christoph, Hans and Sophie were all medical students! Y’all know I liked that aspect of their story! 8. The man who judged them, Roland Freisler, was known for holding staged trials. He always decided on the fate of the victim prior to the trial, giving them no chance of escaping his sentence. Freisler died almost two years later on February 3rd, 1945, when an American pilot bombed his courtroom. 9. Hans, Sophie and Christoph were sentenced to die by way of the guillotine, the very same day as the trial. 10. Just before being executed, Hans cried out, “Es Lebe Die Freiheit!” (Long Live Freedom!) May this always be the battle cry of those Resisting evil. I do not know as much about these young people as I would like, but I intend to continue studying them. Take a moment today to remember the cause for which they fought and died. Thank God for His mercy in letting that cruel war end in Allied victory and for following it up with the founding of Israel (1947). And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? 1 Samuel 17:29 (King James Bible) Until Next Time,
Es Lebe Die Freiheit! Ryana Lynn Jude 22 Hello and welcome back! Today, I have another fun book review for you and oh! This book *eyes tearing up already* will hit you right in the heart. I just recently met this sweet author through the blog and I am so excited to share with you about her novel, O To Be Like Thee!  O To Be Like Thee How Deep Love Runs By Kassie Angle (Published 2018) Wartime friendships are almost legendary. There’s nothing quite like the bond between soldiers who know their lives depend on each other. That’s the thing, though. Your best friend’s life depends on you. That’s not always an easy responsibility. And to make things worse, there’s that little blue-eyed boy in Texas who recognizes your uniform and not your face, and somehow his broken heart learns to love you… Okay, so I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before or not, but I love the army and I love military medical units, regardless of branch. I love a novel about medics (I mean, Seth is one of my favorite characters from my books and he’s a doctor’s aide 😉). This book combines these passions and oh! I love it so much! We follow the story of LT Corban “Corey” Schreiber, a medic stationed in Afghanistan and his relationship with a new friend, Mayson McKinley (Already, I love this guy! Mayson…kinda partial to that name even if the spelling is different…). I used to live near a military base and I have army in my family, so this story really hit home for me. Kassie handled topics such as blaming one’s self for someone’s death, mild PTSD, grieving a loved one and how things change after deployment for a service member. And she did it very well! Having been raised on army bases across the globe, Kassie knows what she is talking about. And her writing style is to the point and heart wrenching. Few books actually make me cry. I can think of…five that made me cry and one of them was mine, so it doesn’t count, lol! This book made me cry several times. It’s so…real. Even though the story is from Corey’s Point of View (POV), I felt I could connect with him. She did something few books I’ve read about the military have done. She made Corey human, not some larger than life superhero who can handle anything. He had struggles. He had feelings. He wasn’t a robot, but a person. While there is some blood mentioned in the story, and injuries discussed, nothing was exceedingly graphic. I would read it to my younger siblings, no problem. I will not forget this story. It hit home for me on a deep level and brought me to an even stronger appreciation for our servicemen. I encourage you, click this link and order you a copy of O To Be Like Thee. It’s a 400+ page novel, so it may take a while to finish, but it is worth it. READ THIS!  …Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Matthew 25:23b (King James Bible) Until Next Time,
Ryana Lynn Jude 22 And you’re back for another post! How lovely that you chose to join me! And I have something special for you! A New Writing Series! I can’t wait to share it with you as it is a topic I’m super excited about! So, let’s explore this new series, shall we?  You’ve got the perfect story. Your characters are so perfect. Your setting is just right…now if only you could come up with a title!
First of all, go ahead and start writing so you won’t lose that brilliant idea. The title may just come to you as you write. This is very hard for me. The title helps me know where I’m going, but sometimes, I’ve had to just write and get my title later. Next, make a list of the things that you want to communicate through your book. Example from The Land of Cotton:
Is music going to be a part of your story? Then pick a theme song, study the lyrics and pick your title. That’s what I did with The Land of Cotton. (Oh, I wish I was in The Land of Cotton…) It personifies everything I wanted for my book and it sets the mood very nicely. Not so big on the “song” title? Try an important phrase you may use in the story. “They Need to See Our Loyalty”, “How’d This All Get Started?” or “Liberty is the Objective,” may have worked for my book. Or I could have picked a person to focus on. “Seth Mason and the Stonewall Brigade,” “Fighting for Both Dixies,” “Michael’s Battle,” etc. Of course, if I had done that, the story would have had to be written from that person’s point of view exclusively. Keep that in mind. I could have even gone with an idea from the story. “Fighting the Invader,” “States Rights or Death,” “Tarheels in Virginia,” “A Soldier Twice,” or “Southern Patriots” would have worked. My story was set in Four Tree Springs, North Carolina, largely at Shady Grove Plantation. “Warriors of the Grove,” “Four Tree Springs at War,” or “May 20th, 1861” (The Date North Carolina seceded) pose possibilities. Historic quotes are good too. I think you get the general idea. Inspiration is out there, but sometimes you have to dig. Or maybe your title is the easy part, and the story is the hard one! It can work both ways. 😉 Ultimately, it’s your book. There’s nothing wrong with asking others for input. Describe the idea behind your story to a friend and ask for suggestions. Until next time, Ryana Lynn Jude 22 Hey y’all! I did it! Ryana Lynn, did you see that! I am actually typing! Y’all, this laptop thing is so interesting! I’ve never seen anything like this before and I’m surprised at how easy it is! Oh…I suppose I should introduce myself! My name is Dixianna Mason of Four Tree Springs, N.C. Ryana Lynn told me she has written a series of books about my family, but not all of you have read them yet. She thought perhaps you should meet me and get to know me a little better. Well, I’m nothing special, just, well, me! I just happen to live during a war…just like you! What…? Oh, Ryana Lynn says I’m rambling -What’s that thing you write when you laugh? Oh! - lol! That looks so cute! Sorry, I digress. Anyway, you may wonder why I’ve taken over the blog! Well, today is my Birthday! Yes, I am a Valentine’s baby! And as a present to me, Ryana Lynn has sweetly allowed me to fulfill a dream of mine since…well, since I met her…lol! (I’m getting this!) If I lived in your year, I would be 173. But I’m not in your time, I am in mine. The year is 1864 and I just turned 18! And officially an old maid…like I said, there’s a war on, so…I’m waiting patiently. Huh? Oh, all right, apparently, I need to end this introduction and get into my main topic. So, The End.  My topic today will be…me! I am going to tell you a little bit about myself and hope you find it interesting… My Favorite Instrument. As you can see on the photograph above…wait, it’s not a photograph?...oh, the “blog graphic” above, I play the fiddle. I play hymns, folk music and patriotic pieces, usually with my brothers. I can play the piano, but fiddle is my passion…how do you…oh, there 😉 I love those little faces! Okay, back to the fiddle. My fiddle was made in 1812 by my great-grandfather, Richard MacIntyre, for my grandmother, Dixianna Rose MacIntyre Mason, only she wasn’t married at the time. She was named for her parents, Richard (Dixie is a nickname for Richard, don’t ask me how that got started) and Anna. Maw-Maw has always gone by Anna, because she felt, when she was young, that Dixie was too masculine. How things do change! Maw-Maw gave the fiddle to my father when he was thirteen, and he passed it along to me when I was thirteen, though I was playing it by the time my arms were long enough to hold it. My Horse. Do any of you like horses? I do! My horse is a slate gray Mustang Stallion named Confederate 😉 My Papa Rains (My mother’s father) bought him for me right before the war began three years ago. Confederate is quite playful, though if you had seen him when I first got him, you wouldn’t have thought so. He had a rough life, poor baby, but now, he gets all the love and attention I give him and plenty of pasture to run in. His favorite treats are apple peels and carrot skins. I know, I’d love to give him the whole thing, but with the war on, we need all the food we can find and there’s no money for extras. Not that I’m complaining. My Favorite Color. Contrary to what one might think, my favorite color is purple. Many assume it’s green, because of my eyes and my red hair and the fact that green looks the best on me, but purple is my favorite. My favorite dress was purple…my brothers bought me the material for my birthday…sure miss that dress. Ryana Lynn says you should read book 3 if you want to learn more about what happened to it… My Favorite Sibling… Just making sure you were paying attention! I don’t have a favorite sibling and Ryana Lynn says I can’t tell you much because of something known as spoilers. But I will tell you this: Growing up in a house full of boys is difficult, but also quite the adventure! I used to loath the slamming of doors, but with the war on now…I kinda miss it. One more fun fact and then I shall…how did she put it…oh! I shall “Wrap-up” this post. You people of the 21st Century sure have some interesting ways of expressing yourselves! But it’s also quite intriguing! I’m rambling again. My Favorite Song. Hymn wise, it would be What Wondrous Love is This? So hauntingly beautiful. Patriotic wise, I like The Homespun Dress and of course, Dixieland 😉 And I was born on a frosty morning! I also love the North Carolina War Song. It’s to the tune of Bonnie Annie Laurie, a Scottish folk song that my Maw-Maw Mason adores. It’s not well known outside my state and Ryana Lynn said that in your time, most people have never heard of it. It’s so pretty though…now I think I’m gonna cry! I suppose this is where I “wrap-up!” I hope you enjoyed my very first (and probably only) blog post! I thoroughly enjoyed it! But, I must rush back to my world…the troops are still in winter quarters, but soon, the fighting will resume…I encourage you to take a moment to thank God that the war your country is fighting now isn’t being fought on your home soil. I’m not so fortunate… Have a blessed day, Farewell! Dixie Mason P.S. Below is my favorite Psalm. I hope you enjoy! Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalm 100 King James Version A Note From Ryana Lynn: Here's Dixie's song, The North Carolina War Song. She couldn't figure out how to post it, lol ;) |
Ryana Lynn
Christian. American. Southern. Author. Subscribe for Blog Updates and a Free Short Story!
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