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Songs that Inspire: Matthew West’s “Moved by Mercy”
Carrie Underwood Sings “How Great Thou Art” With Vince Gill. Amazing!!!
Author: tmgaouette
10 Things Teen Boys DO Want You to Know
Following is a post I recently wrote on Project Inspired:
Ladies, do you and your friends ever wonder what boys think about girls? Are you or one of your friends crushing on a guy and trying to get his attention?
At the end of last year, I gave you a list of 10 Things Teen Boys Don’t Want You To Know! Well, this week I’m giving you a list of 10 things they do want you to know, but that they may not come out and say directly. I hope this will give you some interesting insights into how boys think.
Before you delve into this list, however, know that no two guys, whether they’re non-Christian or Christian, are the same. And not all boys fall into all of these scenarios. So here goes:
- Friendships are important to guys (just like they’re important to you!), and they often will put their friends before girls and dating.
- Flirting is confusing. Guys just don’t understand flirting! Some girls flirt for attention, while others flirt only with guys they like, but guys aren’t privy to the ambiguity behind flirting….so it confuses them!
- Girls who curse and smoke are not cool. Guys may not care if some girls they know smoke or curse, but most would rather the girls they’re interested in keep their language clean and not smell like ashtrays!
- They’re not into drama or backstabbing best friends. When girls gossip or talk negatively about their pals, guys are not impressed. In fact, guys respect girls with integrity.
- They can’t just be friends if they like you. Don’t tell a guy you just want to be friends if he likes you. Consider the flip side! How easy is it for you to hang out with a guy you’re crushing on when he just wants to be friends? It’s no fun!
- They prefer girls they can talk to. Some guys are baited by a pretty face, but beauty fades in the eyes of the beholder if you have a mean streak and no personality. The same goes for guys, right?
- The less makeup, the better. Many guys really like more of a natural look. Too much makeup gives the assumption that you have something to hide!
- Some girls are too boy crazy. While teen guys are interested in girls, many kind of wish girls would tone it down when it comes to boys! Oh, and they just hate the giggling and whispering behind cupped hands!
- They are more comfortable with modesty. They want to look into your eyes when they talk to you and not be distracted by tight or revealing clothes. Guys really don’t like immodesty, and if they do, it’s usually for the wrong reasons.
- Phone calls and text messages are not a commitment. When a guy calls or texts a girl, he may or may not be interested in getting to know her more, but either way, he doesn’t want her to think communication necessarily means commitment.
Ladies, this list is not meant to change you, but rather, give you some insight about the things teen boys wish you knew. However, it will also inform you of two important things. One is that all the things that guys don’t like are negative traits anyway, right? Like gossiping and smoking and being boy crazy. And two, nixing these negative qualities will only help you become more of a Godly girl…which is what your focus should be anyway!
Teen boys are complicated, that’s for sure, but guess what? They think teen girls are too. And the truth is, your teen years are complicated in general. Which is why I continue to urge you to spend your teen years focusing on God, rather than a complicated relationship, that in most cases will end in heartache!
Ladies, what do you think about the above list? Share your story…we love to hear from you!
Check out more of my posts on Project Inspired
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“Freeing Tanner Rose” Featured on Project Inspired – Check it out!
Book Review & Giveaway: “Freeing Tanner Rose” – Featured on “Our Village is a Little Different”
Freeing Tanner Rose is featured on Ourvillageisalittledifferent.com. If you’ve read the book or like my work, please leave a comment and share it with others.
Tanner Rose is a fourteen year old movie and television star. She enjoys her fame and is deep into the Hollywood party scene. When her behavior gets out of control her mother sends her to stay at the country home of her college friend, Miss Ruth. The plan is for Tanner to rest and regroup so that she will be able to focus when filming for her new upcoming show.
Unfortunately for Tanner her problem is not that she is too stressed – the child is addicted to drinking and smoking and when she is out partying there are drugs and boys who have impure intentions. Her self esteem rests in her fame so she does not appreciate being dropped off in the middle of nowhere and especially not at the home of a boy that is not impressed by her status. She doesn’t know what to make of Miss Ruth’s son, Gabriel.
Gabriel is sixteen and he is a very devout Catholic. He and his friends are all clean cut and fairly innocent. Gabriel is also extremely handsome and in good physical condition. Each day he practices martial arts and is quite accomplished.
As most people who are mired in addiction or other bad behaviors do, Tanner tries to corrupt Gabriel and his friends. Every time that they go out Tanner does something infuriating or embarrassing. Gabriel tries not to let her get under his skin but because of his own issues, she does. Amazingly, he is able to tell her in plain language why her behavior is unacceptable and talk in clear language about how God’s love is better than fame or parties or any of the things Tanner holds dear and confuses for happiness.
The story takes some twists and some turns as we learn more about both of the teens and their issues. It comes to a point where either Gabriel’s faith will attract Tanner and allow her to let her true self shine through or Tanner’s life will tempt Gabriel to do things he never even considered. Read more and enter to win a copy of Freeing Tanner Rose
“Freeing Tanner Rose” Featured on Catholicmom.com
Freeing Tanner Rose is featured on Catholicmom.com. If you’ve read the book or like my work, please leave a comment and share it with others.
“1 Corinthians 10:13 teaches about trials and temptation, and its lesson is the premise for my newest novel, Freeing Tanner Rose. My desire was to relay that message in this novel. It’s a story about restraint in a world of inducement and it introduces two young characters, 14 year old Tanner, a Hollywood starlet, and 16 year old Gabriel, a country boy. Their paths cross when Tanner’s sent to stay with him and his mother after her partying ways start affecting her work.
Gabriel is devoted in his Catholic faith, but Tanner, although born into hers, has never found her spiritual self, has never known God, and as a result, has lost her way in an industry saturated in temptation. Needless to say, sparks fly when these two characters meet. They live in completely opposite worlds, but are forced to reside under the same roof. And this association raises many issues under the temptation premise, from modesty and self-confidence to vanity and addiction. And these subjects then go on to prompt the question of which entity wins ultimately, at least within the constraints of this particular story? Will it be faith or temptation?” Read more at Catholicmom.com
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“Freeing Tanner Rose” Featured on Project Inspired – Check it out!
Freeing Tanner Rose: Chapter 1
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Baby’s First Year After Being Born 3 1/2 Months Early – AMAZING! (7 Min. VIDEO)
One of my back-burner novels is a pro-life story. I’m not big on sharing my personal stories online, but I would like to share with you that my newest baby boy was born premature at 31 weeks. I thought that was crazy early, and then I saw this amazing video.
Before you see it, let me remind you that there are states that allow abortion up until 24 weeks gestation. Well the little guy you will meet in this clip was about that age when he entered the world. And because of other laws and loop holes, babies can be terminated even later. Even at the age my little guy was born and even later.
Ward Miles – First Year from BenjaminScot on Vimeo.
For You formed my [a]inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for [b]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [c]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.(Psalm 139:13-16)
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“Freeing Tanner Rose” Featured on Project Inspired – Check it out!
Get the Scoop on Our Blogger T.M.’s NEW Novel
and Enter to Win a Signed Copy!
PI Girls, have you ever wondered what it would be like to be famous? 14-year-old Tanner Rose, the title character in our blogger T.M. Gaouette’s latest novel, Freeing Tanner Rose, didn’t have to wonder…she’d made it big in Hollywood and was the toast of the young “It” crowd. But when her partying and addictions spiral out of control, Tanner suddenly finds herself forced to live in the countryside with only her mom’s college roommate and 16-year-old son, Gabriel, for company.
Right away, Tanner and Gabriel butt heads. To Tanner, Gabriel is just a boring Christian without a life, while Gabriel finds Tanner superficial and rude. Will his faith help her get her life back on track, or will Tanner’s wild lifestyle start to tempt Gabriel down the wrong path?
If you’re looking for a great book about temptation, friendship and God, you’ve got to check out Freeing Tanner Rose. It’s full of beautiful descriptions, intriguing characters and the reminder that loving God is a way of life. We asked T.M. for more details about her book and writing process…read on to learn more!
PI: What was your inspiration behind Freeing Tanner Rose?
T.M: “Faith & Kung Fu” is not only the name of the book series, but also its motivations. Freeing Tanner Rose itself was inspired by 1 Corinthians 10:13, because so many people struggle with temptation. This story is directed toward teens and young adults. However, since the story of Tanner and Gabriel began in 2009, it’s evolved in so many ways. Certain parts of the story and the direction in which it has gone have been motivated by different circumstances that have arisen as the story’s progressed throughout the years.
PI: What do you hope readers take away from the story once they’ve finished?
T.M.: That we live in a world full of temptation. It comes in all shapes and sizes, and we can’t always avoid it, but if we look to God and keep our focus on Him, we can resist anything that comes our way.
PI: Modesty is a big theme in Freeing Tanner Rose. Why did you think it an important one to focus on?
T.M.: Modesty is just one of the main elements of the overall theme, which is temptation. And it’s one that both Tanner and Gabriel struggle with, in their own personal ways. But modesty is not just reflected in the way a person dresses, it’s reflected in attitude and character and the way a person lives. And in all these aspects, it represents restraint and self-worth and self-confidence. When Gabriel tells Tanner that she’s the “epitome of all that is tempting to someone who lacks control,” immodesty is just one part of that. So, modesty has a deeper meaning throughout the book. Other elements of temptation within this novel include addiction and purity.
PI: What was the hardest part of writing Freeing Tanner Rose?
T.M.: Letting it go! I always have a hard time letting a story go.
PI: Do you think you’ll ever come back to Tanner Rose and Gabriel in a future book?
T.M.: Freeing Tanner Rose is the first of a four part series, so it’s likely that Tanner and Gabriel will be back.
Visit Project Inspired and find out how you can win a free signed copy! And don’t forget to “Like” my author page for quick book and PI news on Facebook! (“like” box in sidebar:)
Top 10 Favorite Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes
Following is a post I recently wrote on Project Inspired:
Ladies, Martin Luther King, Jr. was an amazing man and an awesome speaker. He recognized the meaning of civil rights and he knew how to inspire millions of people of all walks of life.
In remembrance of this great leader, and in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. day on Monday, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite quotes of his. I could be here quoting him all day (it was tough to narrow down my list–I know later I will remember yet another quote I love and kick myself for forgetting it!), so I chose 10 of his quotes on 10 different and very important themes. Enjoy!
- Work ethic.“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’”
- Service. “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
- Struggles. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
- Love. “Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, ‘Love your enemies.’ It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies.”
- Equality. ”I want to be the white man’s brother, not his brother-in-law.”
- Faith. “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.”
- Integrity. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
- Do right. “Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”
- Justice. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
- Forgiveness. “Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a constant attitude.”
Ladies, which of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words have inspired you? Share them below; we so love to hear from you!
Check out more of my posts on Project Inspired
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Freeing Tanner Rose: Chapter 1
1
THE music pounded within the constraints of the dimmed room, pulsating through the bodies of every dancing person. It was a large, extravagant room, packed far beyond capacity and marred by the quality of entertainment. The crowd created a thick, stuffy heat in the space, along with a stench that was a culmination of cologne, perfume, and sweat. But to the guests attending, it was a paradise. It was a place of refuge for some, and a place to hide for others. And you had to be someone special to be invited.
Tanner threw her head back and laughed, spilling her cocktail and squealing. She was sitting on her friend Emma’s lap, experiencing the perfect level of euphoria, and she didn’t want the feeling to end. As she looked around the room, she was suddenly aware of the fact that her life would probably never get any better than this. The thought seemed ridiculous, since she was only fourteen. But the idea that she could feel even happier than she felt at that exact moment, seemed even more inconceivable. She let out a content breath and scrambled awkwardly to her feet.
“I want to dance!” She yelled her announcement over the music and turned to Emma. She reached out to her friend, who let out a short scream.
“Watch your smoke!” Tanner had forgotten that she was smoking.
“Oh, my bad,” she said and giggled. She dropped the cigarette butt into an unfinished beer bottle and attempted to pull her reluctant friend off the couch. A hand grabbed her arm and spun her around, and almost off balance. She was suddenly face to face with Jason Allen. His brown eyes sparkled.
“Tanner Rose, I’ve been looking for you.”
“I’ve been here,” she said, laughing and gesturing to her surroundings. He spun her again and the move caused her vision to swirl. She let out a screech and grabbed him for support. “Cut that out!”
“You look amazing,” he said, taking advantage of her backless dress and caressing her bare skin. “I was looking for a dance, but now I’m thinking we should take a little time alone.”
“Are you undressing me with your eyes, Mr. Allen?”
“Kind of,” he said and laughed, “but you haven’t made it too hard, if you know what I mean.”
“Whatever!” She laughed too.
“So, what about it?” he asked with a wink. “Wanna make out?”
“I want to dance!” she said sternly and grabbed his hand. She dragged him through the mob of people.
Tanner pushed her way in among the mass of bodies on the dance floor and closed her eyes. And then she lost herself. She lost herself in the music, the movement of the crowd, and the warm and fuzzy sensation that was consuming her. That was the last thing she remembered.
“Freeing Tanner Rose” is Finally Published. Check it out!
Hey friends! “Freeing Tanner Rose” is finally complete and on the market!
I’m in the process of sending copies out to reviewers. If you are an online book reviewer for a Christian blog, online bookstore, Christian teen website, etc, please contact me. Please note that I only have a limited amount of books set aside for reviewing.
I will be posting the first chapter soon. So stay tuned!
Following are some past posts on “Freeing Tanner Rose”:
Letting Go of a Novel After Years of Laughs and Tears!
“Freeing Tanner Rose” – Book Description
Revising Woes for “Tanner Rose”
“Freeing Tanner Rose” Update: Jumping into Chapter One When Writing Fiction Novels
Final Round of Proofs for “Freeing Tanner Rose”
I’m at the last stage of proofing for, “Freeing Tanner Rose.” Here is a copy of the book. I’m very pleased with the cover.
As you can see, I’m still making changes. I’m confident that the majority of authors share that same reluctance to let a novel go. I could definitely continue to edit as long as I’m given the opportunity. But it’s time to let go!
How difficult is it for you to let go of a novel?
More about “Freeing Tanner Rose”…
Letting Go of a Novel After Years of Laughs and Tears!
“Freeing Tanner Rose” – Book Description
t.m. gaouette 