Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Special New Years Message...


                                        Don't forget to check out the Mine!!

                                      http://diamondsinfiction.blogspot.com/



                                           I took these pictures a few days ago...






 
 
 
My New Year's resolution is, I don't have one. :)
I think we all have some kind of huge goal or decision we plan to stick with every year, therefore starting our new year with stress and over-expectation. Then, halfway through we realize we haven't reached those outrageous goals or resolutions, and we end our year with depression and feelings of failure. I'm not saying we shouldn't have goals. We definitely should. We just need to be more realistic. Reach, but don't fall while you are.
With these words of wisdom I say: Happy New Year!!

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Christmas 2014!!

  Don't forget to visit the Mine!!

http://diamondsinfiction.blogspot.com/2014/12/interview-and-book-giveaway-with-author.html?spref=fb


   I took a lot of pictures this year, but these are a few of my favorites!! I hope you enjoy them!! Drop a comment and let me know which is your favorite!












 

 

 

I can't believe how fast this year slid by. You know what they say...the older you get the faster it goes. I guess it's true.
    I have no great words of wisdom to impart this year, except: Not only is Jesus the reason for the season...He is the reason for everything. To Him, through Him, for Him, etc. The world has taken this day, Christmas, and turned it into a huge materialistic crusade to keep our eyes away from the truth. Jesus is the truth. If you want answers to your questions, or have problems, or praises, or anything at all, turn to Jesus. He IS the answer. There is so much heartache and uncertainty in the world today, and the answer, the solution, is always right there beside us.
    I've met some incredible people this year. I've talked to them about the things of God. And then I'm disappointed. They have this preconceived idea of who Jesus is and what He wants and requires, and it's totally wrong. To have a relationship with the Lord, you have to know who He is. If you don't even have that right, nothing good can follow. It breaks my heart that people walk around with a total lack of respect and regard for our Lord. They have no clue who it is they say they worship.
    My goal for next year is: Witness the truth in love. Now, that doesn't mean concede defeat or step away. It doesn't mean agreeing with someone who is wrong. It means disagreeing respectfully with them, and then telling them the truth. How can we say we love someone, and then lie to them? The worst lie anyone can tell is that Jesus is not who He says He is. These people have to know the truth. If that means being outcast, so be it. I can deal with that. Been there, done that, have several t-shirts...lol. It is our responsibility as Christians to get the real gospel out there and stop letting these charlatans hijack our beliefs. I, for one, am not surprised of the hatred and disregard the general population has for Christianity because they have no idea what it even is. We have been lax and let them believe a lie. So, on to the truth for 2015!!
    Have a Merry CHRISTmas!! From my house to yours.        ~ Misty ~

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Chapter Thirty-Seven Broken Dreams

                                                     Don't forget to visit the Mine!!

                                           http://diamondsinfiction.blogspot.com/



                                                      Some of God's beauty to enjoy!!




 







 

~ Chapter Thirty-Seven ~
Rage consumed him. This was unacceptable. She was his, and he would have her. If they both died in the process, oh well.
He stepped on the gas, delight filling his mind when he caught sight of the police car carrying her.
“Escape me, will you?” He bellowed into the emptiness of the stolen car. “I think not.”
He hit the gas hard, entering the intersection, intending to ram the back of the police cruiser.
A car from the left skidded into the intersection at the same time, grinding the brakes. Metal on metal echoed all around him, but he couldn’t get out of the way fast enough to elude the out-of-control car. It careened into him, spinning his car like a top. He yelled.
“No, I don’t want to go out like this. I have to get her first.”
Everything was happening so fast he could hardly concentrate, but he pulled his foot from the brake and hit the gas. His car lurched. He spun the wheel the opposite direction and worked it until he was again facing the road ahead.
“Aha. That’ll teach ya, ya bum.” He shouted. Pushing the gas a little harder he gave chase to the police car fast losing him.
 
A growing sense of dread crept into Arianna’s mind causing her to stiffen like a statue.
Justin noticed.
“Are you okay?” He pushed a strand of reddish-gold hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek.
She nodded, the movement taking every ounce of concentration she could muster to complete.
Concern filled his eyes.
Her heart melted a little then pulled back. Uneasiness worked to consume her very being.
‘The Monster’ was close. She could feel the evil.
Goose bumps broke out all over her skin. Shadowy black spots threatened her eyesight as terror consumed her. She tried to croak out Justin’s name, but only got out, “Ju— please” before a loud bang and the wheel of their car spun out of the officer’s hands.
“What the— what’s…”
The policeman’s head bounced back hard and then into the wheel. Blood spurted from a wound on his head, but he was out for the count.
Justin released his belt and pulled frantically at the cage separating them and the officer, but it was no use. They were trapped.
“Dear Lord, what should we do?” She screamed as the car flew across several lanes, hitting everything in its path.
As the police cruiser came to a stop, the three passengers inside lay unconscious and bleeding.
 
Adam ran up to the car and pulled the door open. Sirens screamed in the distance. He needed to hurry.
Arianna lay crumpled under the man, looking like a broken rag doll.
With amazing gentleness, he extracted her from the fray and settled her into his arms.
Head sliding this way and that, making sure no police were close enough to see him, he ran into the night.
 
 
Justin woke-up to a bright fluorescent light shining in his eyes.
“Sir?”
Justin moaned, tried to straighten his legs. Pain ripped through him and a scream ripped out.
The young man standing at his side backed away.
“Are you okay, sir?”
Justin clenched his teeth in pain. “My leg. I think its broke.”
“Well hold still. We called 911.”
Justin shook his head. Where is Arianna?
He tried to open his eyes wide, but dizziness washed through him. His body began to spin. “Arianna?”
“Sir, was there a woman in here?” The cop asked.
His voice sounded far away, as if in a tunnel.
“Yes, my wife, Arianna.”
“Sir, are you okay? There’s no woman here.”
Justin’s heart thumped hard against his ribs, winning out over the pain in his leg. “Where is she?”
Justin managed to get his eyes open to small slits. The cop was shaking his head.
“I assure you I don’t know.”
An ambulance screamed onto the scene and Justin was left to lament the whereabouts of his wife. Again.
 

Monday, December 8, 2014

It's that time again...

                    
                            Don't forget to visit the Mine!!

                                     http://diamondsinfiction.blogspot.com/
 

                                           
 
 

 
 





 

                    ~ Chapter Thirty-Six ~


Arianna moaned and tried to sit up. The darkness swirled around her so thick she found it hard to breathe.
On the third try she was able to wedge a small shoulder against the wall and prop herself against its cool dampness. “Dear Lord, You know what’s going to happen if you don’t get me out of here. If it’s somehow Your will I go through it, please give me the strength to endure.”
Tears of desperation and self-pity slid down her cheeks, but she was powerless to wipe them away. Was it ever going to end?
She didn’t hear a peep at least that was a relief. She didn’t have to wonder where he was, she knew. He was ‘consuming his courage’ as he called it. If he was consistent with the one other time this happened, she had about an hour to figure out how to escape.
Vague shadowy images ran through her brain. Swinging her head this way and that, she grunted, “No. I don’t want to remember. I don’t want to remember.”
The personality ‘the Monster’ was sporting at the moment was ‘Adam.’ He was the most evil of his voices. She’d suffered the most at his hands, and at the end, he’d laughed and walked away without a backward glance.
She was shaking now, unable to stop. The coldness from the wall seeped through her shirt and she whimpered in discomfort.
A noise.
She straightened, tilted her head. Was it him?
Her heart thumped against her chest, rattled against her ribcage. Her throat constricted and she tried to swallow, but couldn’t.
Something scurried across her foot. She started to scream but realized it was just a mouse. Much better that than Adam.
As time passed it got colder and colder. Caught halfway between relief he wasn’t there and dread he would show up, she prayed again.
 
Arianna jerked. Had she fallen asleep?
The distinct sound of footsteps pounded to a stop outside the door.
Her heart resumed its jack-hammer pound and she pulled her body as tight against the wall as possible.
Loud banging pulled a moan of horror from trembling lips. The rattle of keys. Heart pounding…and then nothing.
He’s tormenting me.
Somewhere down the way, she heard the jangle of keys again and then screaming.
She wanted to feel guilty for being glad it wasn’t her, but couldn’t. But sympathy for whoever was also a prisoner of the evil Adam washed through her.
Arianna’s mind began to race. How old was the girl? Was she very young? She began to struggle, trying to pull her thin wrists from the shackles, but it was no use.
More screams, this time frantic, reverberated off the walls down the hall.
She sounds young.
Suddenly, it was silent.
Footsteps clopped closer to her door.
Keys jangled. The door slammed open so hard the walls shook.
Arianna screamed.
 
Light flooded the room, blinding her for a moment. She braced for whatever was coming her way, eyes squeezed tight.
“Arianna?”
It sounded like Justin. She was imagining it. She squeezed eyes even tighter and shrunk against the wall.
The body moved closer and she screamed louder, if possible.
“Arianna.”
It was Justin.
The room was suddenly bombarded with men in uniform.
A no nonsense-looking guy walked up and said, “Do you know where he is?”
Surprise and shock kept her mute, but she shook her head.
The officer gave an apologetic smile and asked, “Did he—uh…” His beefy fingers slipped into the collar of his shirt and rubbed back and forth.
Arianna finally found her voice, “No.”
His sigh of relief was audible.
Justin dropped to the floor beside her and hugged tight, tears streaming down his cheeks.
“I’m so sorry, Baby. I should’ve gone to the car instead of you.”
She shook her head. “No, he would’ve killed you.”
“I don’t know about that, but I know you’re not getting out of my site until that ‘Monster’ is put away once and for all.”
 
Fifteen minutes later, after some more questions from the officers, Justin and Arianna were headed back to the police station.
They hadn’t found Adam, but Arianna felt him. She somehow knew he was following them.
She prayed.
 
 

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Chapter Thirty-Five ~ Broken dreams...


Don't forget to visit the Mine!!
I know I've posted these before but they're some favorites and I'm really missing the mountains right now.








 

 
~ Chapter Thirty-Five ~


“Justin, where is that small blue bag we picked up at the deli?” Arianna asked.

He shrugged, his attention on the baby in his arms. “Haven’t seen it.”

“Hm. Well, I’m going to check the car.”

Another shrug. “Okay.”

Arianna went out the front door, the blackness of the night causing her feet to hesitate on the sidewalk. She whispered, “I should’ve turned the porch light on.”

Unease settled around her like a cloak, but she pushed through it. Stop being a baby. There’s nothing out here.

She reached the car and sighed with relief. Shaking her head in self-ridicule, she pulled up on the handle, but it resisted. Locked.

“Why didn’t I bring the keys,” she mumbled, turning back toward the front door of the apartment.

A figure jumped in front of her, blocking her way.

Arianna jumped back, hitting the car so hard breath whooshed from her lungs. She looked up, trying to identify who was in front of her. When her eyes met his, she slumped to the side. Terror rushed through her so thick her body popped goose bumps from head to toe. ‘The Monster.’

His fingers grabbed her chin and jerked her gaze back to his.

Head cricking to the side, he sneered. “You didn’t think you’d escape me that easy, did you?”

“B—ut…h—ow…”

The Monster cackled. “It wasn’t easy, but when you’re determined, you’d be surprised what you can accomplish.

His hand came up, and he slapped a piece of duct tape over her mouth. “Where is my child?”

Even through her fear, his voice didn’t sound quite right, but fear stole her ability to examine the reason.

He dragged her across the parking lot, back into the darkest corner where an old Ford truck waited, motor running.

Lifting her up as if she were a weightless ragdoll, he threw her into the cab of the truck.

Her head struck the dash board, bounced a few times, and she fell into the floorboard on the passenger side.

 

 ‘The Monster’ hopped into the drivers’ side and slammed the door.

Arianna lay in a tangled heap, one leg over the front edge of the seat, and an arm at an odd angle covering the glove compartment. She moaned incessantly.

He reached over and cuffed her on the head, eliciting a screech.

“Shut-up before I give you something to scream about. You’ve been a bad girl.”

 

His words garnered terror within. He’d only said those words to her once before.

He hit the gas and the truck jumped forward, Arianna’s head bouncing like a ping pong ball against the dashboard.

Tears streamed down her cheeks leaving cold tracks of dread in their wake.

Images crowded inside her head, trying to blossom into full blown memories, but she fought to suppress them. No, it couldn’t happen again. He’d promised it would never happen again. Said it wasn’t him that did it, but someone named Adam.

It’s when she’d realized just how crazy and maniacal he really was.

 

Too soon, the truck stopped.

It was still pitch black outside, and being pinned up against the dashboard the way she was, she couldn’t look around. She was sure he hadn’t taken her back to his house in the city. He wasn’t that stupid.

‘The Monster’ cackled as he opened his door and stepped to the ground.

Arianna’s heart sped up as his footsteps neared her side of the truck.

When the door opened and he grabbed her sore arm, she screeched in pain.

He pulled her out anyway.

“No. Please, don’t.”

More laughter. He tossed her over his shoulder and walked through tall grass to an old farmhouse.

At the door, he fumbled for a minute with his keys, then shoved one into the old-fashioned lock. “We’re going to get reacquainted, little Missy.”

He pushed the door open and swatted her on the behind. Hard.

“Tears of shock from the stinging pain welled up in her eyes, but didn’t fall.”

He walked her down the steps of a basement off the old kitchen and dumped her up against a cool cement wall.

She looked around, dread filling her.

He whistled as he picked up each arm and shackled it to the wall.

She prayed, “Dear Lord, Your will be done. Your will be done, Your will be done…”

On the fourth round, he bashed her in the face with his fist, and everything went dark.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Thanksgiving Edition 2014

 It's been a really...different kind of year for me. There've been ups and downs and all arounds. But the one thing I can say, and will shout from the rooftops if I must: I am thankful for the God who created me, sustains me, and who saved my black, retched soul and infused it with the light of His love. :)
  Anybody who knows me knows how I am; Private to a fault, never really letting anyone see who I am. I protect that personal side of me with a jealousy and fear I cannot escape.
    What a lot of people don't know or understand is that artistic people leak out into their art, whether it be drawing, painting, singing, dancing, writing, or even photography.
    I love to write, and because I'm going through an emotionally rough time right now, I'm having difficulty putting words on the screen of my current work for fear too much of me will appear. So I've chosen a few pictures I think identify me. Honestly not because I want everyone to know who I am, but because my 'box' is full and I need to empty out a few facets in order that more can be added. (And I can get back to my book.)

 










What happened to the single rose above ended up wrapping my whole year around it's beautiful petals. But as with all things removed from the vine, it shriveled and died. Mayhap, before I was ready to let it go, but it was out of my hands, and then this took over:

 
 
 
 
 
                        But finally, God had mercy on my suffering and sent this: He is so good!!


 
 
   Anyway, I've had a very eclectic life, if that's a proper description. I've been as poor as they come, and I've had everything I've ever wanted. I've been bored to tears at times, and so busy I don't have time to take a breath of fresh air at others. I've experienced love, joy and even indifference, but the emotion ruling me this year has been sorrow. A marriage I thought would see me to my death was ended, and I'm back in a physical place I never desired to be again. But it was here where my armor was cracked. Yes, I've glued it back together, but who I was isn't who I am at this time. I go on with day to day life, but one  thing is always there in the back of my mind, and more than I'd like, it takes precedence, but I'm a work in progress, after all.
    Now, it might still rain, but I know God is always there beside me turning my sorrow into a joy others can't understand. He is my rock and my Savior.
    I will continue on my road of life until God sees fit to take me from it and move me to the eternal life all of us should be seeking to experience.
    As you enjoy a happy holiday with family members and eat wonderful food made with love and joy, remember who gives you every breath you breathe, and thank HIM for what you have. :)

    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!   ~ Misty ~

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

It's that time again...

                                           Don't forget to visit the Mine tonight!!

                                           http://diamondsinfiction.blogspot.com/






 
 

 
 

 
~ Chapter Thirty-Four ~


They pulled up at a popular shopping center a little while later. Excitement zinged through his nerve-endings. It wasn’t normal, and he knew it, but he’d never been shopping for a baby before.

He turned off the engine and got out. On the other side, he opened Arianna’s door and smiled down at her. “I’ll get the baby.”

“She nodded. “Okay.”

Her excitement was almost as palpable as his.

Mary Jo and his mom had made fast friends and rushed ahead together.

“Is it exciting to go shopping because you never imagined you would, or just because it’s shopping?”

She stood behind him as he pulled the car seat from its base and shoved the plastic handle over one arm.

“I’m excited because I’m going to get things for Chance I thought he’d never have. You’re such a wonderful husband, Justin. Thank you so much.” She leaned into him and squeezed his unused arm.

Her warm words oozed through his body as surely as the heat from her hand on his arm. Affirmation of his decision to marry her spread through him anew. She was the one.

He stopped and pecked her on the cheek. “No, thank you for giving me the honor.”

Her face turned red and he smiled.

They walked into the store, her hand still on his arm.

He had trouble adjusting the car seat onto the cart, but got the job done once he moved aside and let her small hands fasten the safety belt around the proper part of the car seat.

She smiled up at him. “That was a little difficult, but we’re ready.”

They walked into the main part of the store and she stopped him by squeezing bony fingers around his arm. “How much can I spend, Justin?”

Her voice was full of excitement and he laughed. “Just start picking stuff out and I’ll tell you when we get close to our budget.”

She let out a squeal and Chance responded in kind. Justin reached down and pushed a tiny pacier into his mouth. He quieted immediately. Tenderness rose within him, almost choking his next words. “He is so precious.”

She nodded. “Yes he is. I just hope he doesn’t turn out like ‘the Monster.’”

And the mood was broken.

“He won’t, Arianna. You have to believe that.”

She turned and began walking down the baby aisle, throwing over her shoulder, “I hope not.”

Justin watched her go. “Me too.”

 

Two hours later and three hundred dollars shorter, they headed to the car with their purchases.

Mary Jo and Justin’s mom settled into the back seat.

“Are we stopping for dinner, Justin?” His mom asked.

He nodded. “We can. Where do you want to go?”

His mom shrugged. “That’s up to you and Arianna. We’re just along for the ride.”

“Let’s go to the steakhouse then,” He suggested.

“I love steak,” Arianna chimed. “It’s been so long since I had it.”

“It’s settled then. You’ll have it today.”

 

#

The taste of blood was metallic in Adam’s mouth, but he made himself swallow. There wasn’t much time.

He sat up on the gurney, rubbing his ankles. He’d forced the good doctor to release him. He was so brilliant. He laughed at the horrified scream he’d head-butted away…after he bit her nose off, that is. In his mind’s eye he remembered how he’d spit it across the floor.

But now, there was something most important to attend to.

He hopped down, stepping over the motionless body of his former therapist.

He moved with stealth through the outer door of the hospital, keys in hand.

He was pretty sure she drove a nice car. Probably a Beemer.

In the parking lot, he turned in a circle while pressing the red button on the key fob in his hand.

Noise blared and headlights went crazy.

His laugh was triumphant. A black Beemer, of course.

He smiled and whistled as he got in and started the car. It purred like a kitten.

He drove away, Justin’s apartment on his mind.