Taking a Break from Sun-to-Sun

The Word & the Music is my new blog persona that I'll be using across the internet on all the blogs I post! :) God is the Word and the Music, the song that I sing, the melody and harmony! I pray my story gives God glory, but also my blog post and everything I do! If every post includes "the Word" and "the Music", how can I go wrong?

TV, the Internet, Electronic Video Games, Professional Sports Teams, Social Media, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera! (I loved the King of Siam portrayed by Yule Brenner, didn’t you? Etcetera three times always makes me think of The King and I.) Anyway . . .

Once upon a time, these forms of entertainment we enjoy today—if available at all—usually included a ride far away and proved very costly. Especially for those settling the west. So out of necessity, pioneers provided their own fun activities. Church socials with all day meetings and dinner on the grounds occurred regularly and often crossed denominational barriers.

Quilting bees brought ladies together for catching up on all the latest news and provided a necessary commodity for cold winter nights. A part of the fun, aside from the actual quilting time, would be the hours spent prior for decisions on patterns and fabrics. Oft, while the ladies poked and pulled their needles, the men pitched horseshoes or washers. Some played mumbly peg.

Barn raisings might not be considered entertainment, but with several families participating, the day or three spent with ladies cooking, serving, and cleaning, children playing tag, hide and seek, or kick the can, and men sawing and hammering away, all those in attendance had a great time together, enjoying the fellowship while doing a good deed. The neighbor with the new barn definitely got blessed!

For big community fish fries, the men would seine the river for the main course, and the whole community gathered with side dishes and desserts. Much of the pioneer entertainment revolved around food. As early as the 1780s, a game of townball or rounders (similar to baseball) might add to the afternoon’s fun.

Camp meetings, sometimes lasting a week or two, drew the faithful to come from miles around to hear the preaching of the Word, praise, and worship God together. Others—often from more traditional denominations—came strictly for the show, an accepted practice on both sides of the coin as some of those spectators would get saved!

That’s how it happened that in CHIEF OF SINNERS, Sandra Louise, from a Church of Christ family came to the holy rollers’ revival tent meeting to see and hear the renowned Buddy Nightingale sing. When she entered, it was love at first sight for the both of them, and thus the Texas Romance family saga begins again in book ten of the series that launches in early September. It will introduce the fifth generation and bring the series into the 1950s (from 1832).

COVER REVEAL TOMORROW! Come by the CRAVE HIM! (Christian Readers & Authors Visitation Event! He Inspires Me!) Multi-Author Party tomorrow! Starts at 3 pm Texas Time (CDT). Games and prizes!

THE GIVEAWAY

I’m happy to share it with you and would love to offer a copy of book one in the series VOW UNBROKEN to one of my commenters!

To tell you ahead of time----for some reason, I can’t reply to comments on any Blogger site. I write them, and they just disappear, Have any of you experienced that? But I do sincerely appreciate and thank you for your comments! Blessings to all!

THE WORD

THE MUSIC

JOY IS THE FLAG FLOWN HIGH

✞♪♫•✫JOY is the flag ♥ flown high!✞♪*•from the castle♫♪*♪•of my heart!♪*•♫♪ from the castle✞♪of my heart! ♫•.♪♫ from the castle of my heart! ♫✫JOY is the flag ♥ flown high!✞♪*•from the castle♫♪*♪•of my heart!♪*•♫♪ for the KING! ♫•✫♥ *♪ is in residence there!♪♫•✫✞ ♪♫✫

THE QUESTION

What's your favorite source of entertainment?

THE BIO

Caryl McAdoo loves God and writes four series praying each story gives God glory: the historical Texas Romance; a contemporary Red River Romance; The Generations a Biblical fiction; and the Days of Dread Trilogy for young readers—all with a strong Christian sway. Known as the Singing Pray-er, she loves praising with new songs the Lord gives her and counts four children and seventeen grandsugars life’s biggest blessings. She and high school sweetheart-husband Ron live in the woods of Red River County five miles south of Clarksville, the county seat, in the far northeast corner of the Lone Star State.

THE LINKS

Website  /  Amazon  /  Facebook  /  Blogs: HeartWings  CRAVE HIM!  Stitches Thru Time  /  Twitter / GoodReads  /  Google+  /  LinkedIn  /  BookBub  /  Southern Writers Magazine  /  YouTube   

Countdown Day #3—DARE TO LEAP Into Vaudeville

In the United States and Canada, this type of theatrical entertainment hit its heyday from the 1880s through the 1930s. The term “vaudeville” describes a show involving separate acts of various types under a common bill. Distinguished from “minstrel shows” (1840s-1860s) or “variety” shows” (1860s-1881, vaudeville provided entertainment aimed more to a family audience and was performed mostly in places where alcohol was not served. Rosters of acts included popular and classical musicians and singers, acrobats, trained animals, magicians, comedians, jugglers, illustrated songs, and one-act plays.

 

Like circuses, traveling shows often had a regular circuit and the performing season was regulated on favorable weather. Because vaudeville shows involved only small animals and the dray animals, more freedom was enjoyed in finding audiences not served by larger outfits. Since traveling was seasonal, most troupes had a home base where they performed in a theater setting.

This research was an important component of my plot for Laced By Love, a Montana Sky Kindle Worlds novel. Choosing a vaudeville troupe as the normal world for some of characters was such fun. I became mistress of ceremonies to select what type of acts to include, the costuming, and what music would be performed. I hope those who read it have as much fun as I did creating the story.

 

Day #3 of Countdown to Leap into Love featuring:

Linda Carroll-Bradd

Learn more about this author by visiting her author page. Click HERE

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